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Prometheus Caught Stealing From Saturn's Rings

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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  1. Re:Moonlet? by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.