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Space Science

Prometheus Caught Stealing From Saturn's Rings 35

Posted by timothy from the restitution-might-be-tough dept.
merryprankster writes "Saturn's Moon Prometheus is living up to the reputation of its Greek namesake. New Scientist is reporting that the latest images from the Cassini probe show the moon "stealing" material for Saturn's F-ring. Evidence of this had been seen by Cassini in the past in the form of "streamers" and gravitation wobbles within the rings but more fantastic images have now caught the thief in the act."
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Prometheus Caught Stealing From Saturn's Rings More

Prometheus Caught Stealing From Saturn's Rings

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  • Hey....it's all mythological-like.... (Score:5, Informative)

    by KublaiKhan ( 522918 ) on Wednesday November 03, 2004 @09:04AM (#10709771) Homepage Journal
    Except that the last time Prometheus stole something, didn't he get chained to a rock with an eagle ripping out his liver?

    Some people never learn...

  • Ring-stealing Theif! (Score:5, Funny)

    by the darn ( 624240 ) on Wednesday November 03, 2004 @09:35AM (#10709960) Homepage
    Fithly Greek Godses! They steals our preciousss orbital debris...
  • Various dictionaries say: "A small natural or artificial satellite." So how is it different from an asteroid? According to google results they seem to be associated with Saturns rings, and Wikipeia is silent... astronomers, please fill in information here: ____________
    • I suppose the difference must be in what the object orbits: an asteroid is something that orbits the sun, while moonlets orbit smaller things like moons, or maybe asteroids. IANAA, however :)

      Jan

    • Re:Moonlet? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by CheshireCatCO ( 185193 ) on Wednesday November 03, 2004 @10:21AM (#10710317) Homepage
      Well, for one thing, an asteroid is a rocky/metallic body that orbits the Sun, not a planet. Moons can be made of anything and orbit planets (major or minor).

      I'm dubious of a definition of "moon" that allows for artifical satellites, by the way. While the use of the word "moon" is somewhat debated in astronomical circles (there are those who claim that it should only apply to the Moon), I don't know that anyone thinks that it should include artifical satellites.

      • Re:Moonlet? (Score:2, Funny)

        by dpilot ( 134227 )
        We're being pulled toward that small moon.
        That's not a moon, that's a spaceship!

        (as long as this topic is on the same day as another "Star Wars: The Phantom Edit" discussion.)

        • It looks like it's heading towards that small moon.
          That's no moon. It's a space station!
          • I stand corrected.

            Perhaps I should be happy that I can't quote Star Wars correctly, but I wouldn't want to be insulting towards you.
            • Aw heck.. I'm just being nit-picky.. feel free ta bash if ya need. There's a handful of movies I know verbatim or darn near, so I'll "correct" what I see sometimes. SW just happens to be one of those.
              • The scary thing is, my whole family, wife, son, daughter, and me, can all recite tag-lines from an old cartoon called, Freakazoid. It was made by Steven Spielberg, and only lasted 2 seasons. But in those two seasons were some of (IMHO) the BEST cartoons ever made, especially considering modern cartoons. (I would probably agree that the old Chuck Jones stuff was BEST, though I did like some earlier stuff, too.)
    • I think it has something to do with the eccentricity of orbit, but I am nto precisely sure. The comments in a /. story about "the Earth's three moons" or somesuch go into detail on the difference between a moon and not-moons. Sorry, I'm not going to do that research for you, though.

      .
      -shpoffo

      • Re:Moonlet? (Score:3, Informative)

        by CheshireCatCO ( 185193 )
        Eccentricity isn't a player in moon-ness. It can tell you something about the origin of the moon in question (a large eccentricity, along with a high inclination and a retrograde orbit, is symptomatic of a captured body), but the distinction is bascially: does the object orbit a planet and is it bigger than some minimum size. (Probably in the region of kilometers or tens of kilometers. Opinions will vary about where to draw the line.)
    • Mar's moons, Phoebos and Deimos, are nothing more then captured asteroids. and the definition of satellite is a celestial body that orbits a planet. While an asteriod is a small celestial body that orbits the sun. So the only difference is what it orbits.
      • Ok, but are they really moons then? SHouldn't they be called moonlets?

        • Re:Moonlet? (Score:3, Informative)

          by CheshireCatCO ( 185193 )
          What, Mars's moons? No. They're big enough to be moons.

          A moonlet is of order 10 km is diameter, typically. Actually, I don't think we've actually seen any to date. (Well, not conclusively.) In reality, the term is sort of slang anyway. Either you're a moon or you aren't. (Ring particles, dust, etc. are too small to be moons. Bigger, natural things orbiting planets... moons.)

  • Gravity (Score:5, Funny)

    by mknewman ( 557587 ) * on Wednesday November 03, 2004 @10:35AM (#10710472)
    Gravity sucks, doesn't it?

  • Copyright! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Daagar ( 764445 ) on Wednesday November 03, 2004 @05:10PM (#10716656)
    It's not stealing, it's copyright infringement. How many times must we go over this. Oh, wait...

  • Full-size image (Score:4, Informative)

    by Fortran IV ( 737299 ) on Wednesday November 03, 2004 @07:07PM (#10718002) Journal
    Here's the original image [nasa.gov] from NASA's collection of raw images. A related image is here. [nasa.gov]

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