The Prometheus
moon steals wispy material from Saturn's F ring, as seen by the Cassini
spacecraft.
The
irregular Saturnian moon acts as a gravitational tug that pulls away ring dust
and debris onto different orbital paths and leaves an uneven pattern of kinks
in the F ring. In that way Prometheus appears to live up to its namesake, who
stole fire from the Greek Gods and gave it to humans.
The moon's
sneaky activity is illuminated by both direct sunlight and reflected light from
Saturn, captured by Cassini from 743,000 miles (1.2 kilometers) out. The "saturnshine"
often brightens the night sides of Saturn's many moons.
— NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science
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