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The equatorial ridge is the tallest mountain feature on Saturn's moon Iapetus. It is 20 km (12 mi) high, and is the third tallest mountain structure in the Solar System. It runs along most of Iapetus' equator. It was discovered by the Cassini probe in 2004. The ridge's origin is unknown.
The solar system's tallest mountain is possibly the Olympus Mons on Mars with an altitude of 21.9 to 26 km. The central peak of Rheasilvia on the asteroid Vesta is also a candidate to be the tallest, with an estimated at up to between 20 and 25 km from peak to base.
Beethoven has only one, subdued massif-like rim 625 kilometres (388 mi) in diameter, but displays an impressive, well lineated ejecta blanket that extends as far as 500 kilometres (311 mi). As at Tolstoj, Beethoven ejecta is asymmetric. The Caloris basin is defined by a ring of mountains 1,300 kilometres (808 mi) in diameter.
In 1978, the space probe Pioneer Venus 1 went into orbit around Venus for the purpose of making radar observations of the Venusian surface. These observations made possible the creation of the first topographic map of the surface of Venus, and confirmed that a point within Maxwell Montes is the highest point above the average level of the ...
Equatorial ridges are a feature of at least three of Saturn's moons: the large moon Iapetus and the tiny moons Atlas and Pan. They are ridges that closely follow the moons' equators . They appear to be unique to the Saturnian system, but it is uncertain whether the occurrences are related or a coincidence.
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One of the first-ever images that clearly shows Iapetus's light and dark areas, taken by Voyager 1 on Nov. 12, 1980, from a distance of 3.2 million kilometres (2.0 million miles). [ 44 ] The first spacecraft to visit Saturn, Pioneer 11 , did not provide any images of Iapetus and it came no closer than 1,030,000 km (640,000 mi) from the moon. [ 45 ]
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will line up in the sky this week and could stay visible to the naked eye for a number of weeks. Skygazers will be treated to the sight from Wednesday all the way ...