Prometheus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prometheus, Saturn's moon | Automatic translation | Updated June 01, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prometheus discovered in October 1980, is an irregular natural satellite of Saturn, which has a size measured in 2006 of 119 x 87 x 61 km. Image: Prometheus in the foreground above the F ring and in the F ring, we see Pandora. |
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Prometheus creates waves in the rings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prometheus continually creating strange currents in the F ring of Saturn. | Image: In this image, Prometheus is visible in the upper left, the moon of Saturn is orbiting near the inner edge of Saturn's F ring. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prometheus, the shepherd satellite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prometheus (Prometheus S XVI), the small moon of Saturn has been observed in detail by the Cassini-Huygens space probe, shows it in its 119 km long. Orbiting Saturn since 2004, the Cassini spacecraft has completed end January 2010, his closest overview of Prometheus. In fact this image was taken by Cassini, from a distance of 36 000 km. The surface of Prometheus which covers 119 x 87 x 61 km, shows an interesting and complex system of ridges, projections and craters. These courses added to its oval shape and its high reflectivity, are now studied in the hope of better understanding the relationship that exists between Prometheus and Saturn's rings. | Like that of its companion moon, Pandora, Prometheus bordering many small pieces of ice in Saturn's F ring. In this picture, part of Prometheus (right) is illuminated by the Sun while the other remains still visible due to reflection of sunlight on Saturn. Image: Credit: Cassini Imaging team ISS, JPL, ESA, NASA.NB: shepherd satellite is a body of a modest size orbiting near the edge of a ring. The gravity generated by the satellite and it confines the ring defines an exact edge. Indeed, the materials are either sent them away in the ring, or ejected from it, or integrate with the moon. |