Explanation: What's causing those strange dark streaks in the rings of Saturn? Prometheus. Specifically, an orbital dance involving Saturn's moon Prometheus keeps creating unusual light and dark streamers in the F-Ring of Saturn. Now Prometheus orbits Saturn just inside the thin F-ring, but ventures into its inner edge about every 15 hours. Prometheus' gravity then pulls the closest ring particles toward the 80-km moon. The result is not only a stream of bright ring particles but also a dark ribbon where ring particles used to be. Since Prometheus orbits faster than the ring particles, the icy moon pulls out a new streamer every pass. Above, several streamers or kinks are visible at once. The above photograph was taken in June by the robotic Cassini Spacecraft orbiting Saturn. The oblong moon Prometheus is visible on the far left.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: Saturn rings - Saturn's Moon - Prometheus - kol'ca Saturna - sputniki Saturna Publikacii so slovami: Saturn rings - Saturn's Moon - Prometheus - kol'ca Saturna - sputniki Saturna
Sm. takzhe: Stereo-Elena Sputnik Saturna Elena v cvete Giperion: sputnik Saturna so strannymi kraterami Yapet: sputnik Saturna so strannoi poverhnost'yu Saturn noch'yu Saturn, Tefiya, kol'ca i teni Sputniki Saturna za predelami ego kolec Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>