Saturn’s moon Iapetus has one side that is very bright (high reflectivity) and the other side that is very dark (low reflectivity)...?

Question

Saturn’s moon Iapetus has one side that is very bright (high reflectivity) and the other side that is very dark (low reflectivity). All sides get the same amount of sunlight. Which side should be hotter? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Will I do your homework for you?  Hahaha...no.

Will I give you a hint?  Sure.  Ask yourself this: When you go walking barefoot outside on a hot summer day, which feels hotter on your bare feet: the black asphalt or the light gray sidewalk?  Why?  Explain your answer.

Answer 2

The Darker side Absorbs more Heat

 It is so because it is the Leading side in its orbit and has to fly through allsorts

The Bright Side is Pristine and reflects heat, which makes it cooler

Iapetus is Tidally locked in its orbit, which keeps it that way

Cassini also showed up that there is a ridge right along its Limb

Giving it a kind of Walnut Shape so to Speak

A true Yin and Yang of a moon

 And it shows often that the truth can be stranger than fiction

Source(s): Iapetus from Cassini

Answer 3

The darker side should be; with low reflectivity, photons from the sun would be absorbed in greater amount on the darker side of Iapetus. 

Answer 4

Like Daniel said, at that distance it may be too small a difference to matter, but the dark side absorbs more VISIBLE light. Whether it absorbs more infrared is something our eyes cannot see

Answer 5

What minuscule amount of solar heating is out that far, the darker absorbs more infrared heat energy from the sun.

Answer 6

Iapetus' heat is internal, from tidal flexing caused by an 'elliptical orbit that is in resonance with other Saturn moons, including Titan. Internal heat is constant. It is not dependent on the Sun.

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