Shepherd Moon Prometheus from Cassini
Explanation:
Another moon of Saturn has been imaged in detail by the Cassini spacecraft.
Orbiting Saturn since 2004, the
robotic Cassini
got its closest look yet at Saturn's small moon
Prometheus last week.
Visible above in an unprocessed image from 36,000 kilometers away,
Prometheus' 100-km long surface was revealed to have an
interesting system of bulges, ridges, and craters.
These features, together with the moon's oblong shape and high reflectivity,
are now being studied to help better understand the history of
Prometheus and Saturn's rings.
Prometheus is one of the few
shepherd satellites known, as its gravity, along with its companion moon
Pandora, confines many smaller ice chucks into
Saturn's F Ring.
Cassini's next major
targeted flyby is of the moon
Rhea on March 2.
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.
