Iapetus tower (err..another one)

I was wandering about a site looking at the cool pix when I noticed this...

Look at shadow cast from "something" in the centre of the crater about a third of the way from the top and to the right of the middle mosaic here

According to the picture title, this is taken from 79000kms out.

I'm of the "a rock is a rock" school of thought, but that is one big pole if I'm reading the shadow correctly.

Did a search, but could only find Hoagy stuff.

Originally posted by nomadros
...that is one big pole

I get a lot of that. I'm not bragging, mind you. Some people are just easily impressed.




All kidding aside, help me out here:

a) I'm not sure if I've found the shadow in question.

b) Assuming we are looking at the same shadow, does anybody have any idea how we'd even begin to calculate the height of the object casting the shadow? I'm sure the math is no big mystery, if we already know the size of Iapetus and/or some of the major surface features visible in the mosaic, yes?

reply to post by nomadros


No idea how tall it is, but it is tall!

Have you noticed the two parallel column like features in the same crater, up against the E wall (as you look at it)?

Reminded me of a huge sundial, with the tower casting a shadow, and the two columns as the 'midday'. This picture was then taken about 13:30 Iapetus time.

There's also what looks like a (at this distance/res, it's hard to say anything is anything) an equilateral three sided pyramid on the bottom mosiac, about a third way down and on the left side.

In fact, theres a lot about Iapetus that looks artificial, but again, at this res and distance, it's hard to say what's natural and what, if any features, are not.

spikey.


[edit on 6-4-2009 by spikey]

[edit on 6-4-2009 by spikey]

Please post a cropped image, not sure where is this shadow you're describing. I want to see the Monolith! (It was there in Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001 A Space Odyssey.)

Anyway it seems that most of the black areas are NOT shadows. It's supposed to be some kind of dark organic material giving the moon its unique two-tone coloration.
Wikipedia article about Iapetus

in the largest crater within the crater (think of the crater as a clock face, the one you want is at 7 0'clock) you'll spot a black shadow from the almost centre going in a 4 - 5 o'clock direction. it's quite a long shadow so i'm guessing the source to be rather tall.



you can see it on this too

[edit on 6-4-2009 by afgang]

I can see the "tower" (whatever it is, it's casting a long shadow) in both photos - also the parallel formations at the side of the crater. interesting.

In the second photo you can also see the ridge that Hoagland talks about pretty clearly, too.

I have to admit, I like Hoagy's stuff about Iapetus. I was a big fan of the book of 2001 back in the day, and some of the photos on his website do seem to indicate an artificial structure - although he just has to go and spoil it all with a pic of the Death Star.

I definately see "It" and it's big whatever it is... Looks like a tower right smack in the middle of the crater.

100%, 200% and 400%

Image here

Not bad from 79,000km out!

I didn't want to present something I'd edited when I originally posted.

[edit on 6-4-2009 by nomadros]

[edit on 6-4-2009 by nomadros]

Interesting.

What is the composition of Iapetus? Could it be frozen water, or something of that nature? I can only imagine just how cold it is there...

But...definitely interesting.

Good work, finding this.

reply to post by seagull


Thanks.

The only thing I can think of (naturally) is that a meteor hit, punched through the surface and a plume of liquid something shot out (similar to a drop of water falling into a pool) and then froze.

However that shadow is very straight and I'd be expecting it to taper or become more diffuse if it was something ejected. My first degree's in art so I'm used to the play of light on objects which is why this caught my eye. The pixel pattern at 400% is very uniform.

The shadow of the crater rim makes me think that the light comes from the top right, and in that case that shadow is not the shadow of a "tower" but a shadow of a "wall".

reply to post by ArMaP


Or it may not be a shadow at all but just darker material such as that seen all over the place.

In many places, the dark material--thought to be composed of nitrogen-bearing organic compounds called cyanides, hydrated minerals and other carbonaceous minerals--appears to coat equator-facing slopes and crater floors. The distribution of this material and variations in the color of the bright material across the trailing hemisphere will be crucial clues to understanding the origin of Iapetus' peculiar bright-dark dual personality.

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov...

For what it's worth, here is a very much higher resolution image:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov...

Originally posted by nomadros
reply to post by seagull

 

Thanks.

The only thing I can think of (naturally) is that a meteor hit, punched through the surface and a plume of liquid something shot out (similar to a drop of water falling into a pool) and then froze.

Or how about if a huge meteor hit the surface at a slow-enough speed that it didn't completely disintegrate, but just sat there? Then, over time, micro-meteor bombardment could have worn away the outside, revealing an internal "vein" of some substance that was harder than the rest of the object?

Far-fetched, perhaps, but I'm just throwin' that idea out there.

That is a pretty moon I will say that.

As for the shadow, it doesn't look as if it is coming from the wall of the crater more of a shadow of something tall inside the crater. Since it is visible from 2 different views i see no coincidence.

I was wrong, the light is not coming from the direction I was thinking it was, because what I thought was a shadow is not a shadow, I was too hasty on my analysis.

But the shadows do not align with the "shadow" of the "tower", and the colour of the shadow makes me think that it is, like Phage said, some of that darker material that looks like it was blown over Iapetus and not a real shadow.

That sure is an interesting place, too bad I do not have better photos of it.

I have to look for more.

reply to post by ArMaP

Try this:
saturn.jpl.nasa.gov...

[edit on 4/6/2009 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


Thanks!

I haven't followed Cassini as much as I would like, there are so many things to keep those who like space exploration busy (specially those that have some catch-up to do, like me) that I think we would need days with 48 hours.

reply to post by Phage


I've tried imagining how dark material would lay itself down like that and you basically end up with in a "snow against a wall" scenario. However, I've had a look at the link to Nasa you've provided (couldn't get the tiff to open, but thanks for the other link) and there is a commonality in the craters on this rock.

If you look at this image most of the craters seem to have a central feature and if you look at the largest crater in the top right, just before the terminator, there is one with a large V shaped shadow and a sort of cauliflower in the middle. So, I'm presuming that a meteor impact on this rock allows the release of some sort of subsurface and pressurised malleable material that hardens. If that makes any sense.

I always try to remember that if we were Martians and there were no Earthlings, if "we" took a picture of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland from space, we'd all be screaming "ALIENS!!!"