Editing Iapetus (moon) (section)

== Orbit ==
[[File:Iapetus orbit (side).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Side view of Iapetus's orbit (red) compared to the other large moons, showing its unusually high inclination]]
The orbit of Iapetus is somewhat unusual. Although it is Saturn's third-largest moon, it orbits much farther from Saturn than the next closest major moon, [[Titan (moon)|Titan]]. It also has the most inclined orbital plane of the regular satellites; only the irregular outer satellites like [[Phoebe (moon)|Phoebe]] have more inclined orbits. Because of this distant, inclined orbit, Iapetus is the only large moon from which the rings of Saturn would be clearly visible; from the other inner moons, the rings would be edge-on and difficult to see. The cause of this highly inclined orbit is unknown; however, the moon is not likely to have been captured. One suggestion for the cause of Iapetus's orbital inclination is an encounter between Saturn and another planet in the distant past.<ref name=Nesvorny_2014>{{cite journal|last1=Nesvorný|first1=David|last2=Vokrouhlický|first2=David|last3=Deienno|first3=Rogerio|last4=Walsh|first4=Kevin J.|title=Excitation of the Orbital Inclination of Iapetus during Planetary Encounters|journal=The Astronomical Journal|date=2014|volume=148|issue=3|page=52|doi=10.1088/0004-6256/148/3/52|bibcode=2014AJ....148...52N|arxiv = 1406.3600 |s2cid=54081553}}</ref>

Despite being, on average, 2.4 times further from Saturn than Hyperion, the next moon inward, Iapetus is tidally locked to Saturn while Hyperion is not.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Buratti |first1=Bonnie J. |title=Hyperion |journal=Nature Astronomy |date=September 2017 |volume=1 |issue=9 |pages=574 |doi=10.1038/s41550-017-0243-9 |bibcode=2017NatAs...1..574B |s2cid=256706837 }}</ref>