08 May 2007
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
NASA recently published a stunning image of Saturn's magnificent rings, acquired by the Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft. The image shows the perturbing effects of Prometheus, the shepherd moon of the F ring.
In this image, Prometheus glides by two dark gores in the ring's inner edge. The moon's gravity severely distorts the shape of the ring.
Prometheus (102 km across) is partially-illuminated by sunlight reflected off Saturn.
Cassini was looking down on the dark side of the rings from about 54° above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with Cassini's narrow-angle camera on 17 March 2007. Cassini was approximately 1.8 million km from Prometheus. Image scale is 11 km per pixel.
Further Reading
Cassini Encounters Prometheus
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Three Tiny Moons Align
http://www.bibalex.org/eclipse2006/News_Details.aspx?id=210
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist