Are you ready for another Where In The Universe Challenge? Take a look at the image above and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft responsible for the image. We’ll provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until tomorrow. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section — if you dare! Check back tomorrow on this same post to see how you did. Good luck!
UPDATE (12/4): The answer has now been posted below. If you haven’t made your guess yet, no peeking before you do!!
A variety of guesses this week, but many answers were correct: Saturn’s moon Iapetus. The Cassini spacraft zoomed in on the cratered moon to provide this stunning close-up. And did you know you can golf the moons of Saturn? The Cassini scientists created a Flash-based game based on some of the best images from the spacecraft’s tour of Saturn and its moons. It’s called Golf Sector 6, and its pretty fun. As many of you mentioned, this image shows the equatorial bulge of Iapetus, with mountainous terrain reaching about 10 km in height. Above the middle of the image can be seen a place where an impact has exposed the bright ice beneath the dark overlying material.
The image was taken on 10 September 2007 with the Cassini’s narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 3870 km from Iapetus. Image scale is 23 m per pixel. Credits: NASA/ JPL/ Space Science Institute.
And you know-it-alls out there don’t have to provide links to images or videos in your guesses! Give everyone the equal chance to play, please!
Tune in again next week for another WITU challenge!
http://www.daviddarling.info/ images/Iapetus_mountain
Iapetus, from Cassini
They ‘re are pretty sure it’s Iapetus. My first glance pointed to Phoebe. It Looks like a little bit Phobos but if you stare the terrain is icy not rocky so it’s not Phobos definitely.
Ryan Anderson is right. That’s Iapetus bulge (The Himalayas of Iapetus). There’s a related nice movie you can see here: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/movies/PIA08404_full_movie.mpg
Phobos. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
It’s Iapetus’ equatorial rige, taken by Cassini during a close flyby (last year?).
The equatorial ridge on Iapetus, as seen by Cassini during its close flyby.
Asteroid Eros by NEAR
OK, this one isn’t easy. So I’ll split my answer in two parts:
What I know: this is a photo of one of Saturn’s moons, taken by Cassini.
What I think is correct but I’m not sure: I think the moon is Iapetus, namely its equatorial bulge. But it can also be one of the largest irregular moons (not Hyperion, though).
Still, I’ll put my virtual money on Iapetus. That tiny crater in the upper center surrounded by light terrain just cries out Iapetus to me.
I have to go with Ryan on this one; It is Cassini.
I think it’s one of Mars moons.
Iapetus surface close-up by Cassini
Saturn’s moon Phoebe?
Stand corrected it’s Iapetus of Saturn’s moons!
Mmm, thats lapetus (saturn’s moon) but the image tries to confuse with phobos. Cassini.
It’s definitely one of Mars’ satellites. Don’t know which craft, though.
The Himalayas of Iapetus. Taken 1o September 2007 from Cassini
Iapetus from Cassini, september 2007.
I’m going for Phoebe, photographed by Cassini.
Definitely cassini, but I don’t know the moon off the top of my head.
One of the many outstanding shots of Iapetus from the Cassini flyby.
Close up of equatorial bulge of Iapetus, imaged by Cassini.
Phobos!
Equatorial ridge on moldy Iapetus, formed eons ago when the cheese was much softer, pitcher by Cassini.
Iapetus’ equatorial awesomeness.
I reckon it is the most intriguing geological formation in the solar system.
Hyperion.
A picture of Hyperion by Cassini?
An asteroid, though I’m not even close to sure. I’m not able to name it or the ship taking the picture either.
Iapetus by Cassini, only because Ive seen the flyby movie. Otherwise I would have said Hyperion
My guess is that this is a photo of the asteroid Eros taken by NEAR.
Eros is my best guess, too.
Eros, I guess. Looks pretty much like an asteroid.
Surely Eros taken by NEAR Shoemaker.
Okay, I got it wrong. The high curvature stopped me thinking about moons. It’s Iapetus by Cassini.
phobos by esa Mars Express
My first thought was an asteroid but based on popular replies here and finalised by a Google search, it is Iapetus’ Ridge.
Iapetus/Cassini (but my first guess was Eros/NEAR).
Iapetus, one of the moons of Saturnus, I recognized straight the image although couldn’t remember the name of the moon, so I had to rely on my notes. I’m a cheat, so no points to me. Auch.
Eros taken by NEAR, is my guess.
It is bad enough to use Google or other research methods after other people give guesses, so you have something to work with. However… it is absolutely STUPID and MORONIC to come back here, post your answer and method of validation. You ruin the whole challenge to satisfy your neediness.
You also prove the lack of intelligence by those who are needingly narcissistic… and how they must blab some answer just to get noticed, and overcome their insecurity around people who are educated enough to come up with the answer without cheating.
For you it is better to be silent and have people wonder about your intelligence than to make an idiotic comment and remove all doubt.
^^ What they said.
Iapetus. Cassini.
The asteroid Eros.
The Moon or Mercury. I’ll opt for Mercury – it seems smoother then the moon.
An asteroid, specifically the one landed on by a probe (NEAR?).
Bien dicho Nancy! nada de imágenes ni vínculos… eso no es hacer trampa, pero es como quitarle el sabor al juego.
Muy agradable la selección de esta semana, gracias al fondo de espacio se veía muy bien como un “donde en el universo” cualquiera.
Abrazos
Gracias Eduardo!
nice one !!!
its iapetus… no doubt. the voyager mountain range that runs around the equator.