Explanation:
What's causing those strange dark streaks in the rings of Saturn?
Prometheus.
Specifically, an orbital dance involving
Saturn's moon Prometheus keeps creating unusual light and dark streamers in the
F-Ring of Saturn.
Now Prometheus orbits Saturn just inside the thin
F-ring, but ventures into its inner edge about every 15 hours.
Prometheus' gravity then
pulls the closest
ring particles toward the 80-km moon.
The result is not only a stream of bright
ring particles but also a
dark ribbon where ring particles used to be.
Since Prometheus
orbits faster than the ring particles, the icy moon pulls out a new streamer every pass.
Above, several streamers or kinks are visible at once.
The above
photograph was taken in June by the robotic Cassini Spacecraft orbiting
Saturn.
The oblong moon Prometheus is visible on the far left.
