Discovery of Prometheus

Prometheus is a small inner moon of Saturn, discovered in October 1980 in images taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. It orbits just inside the narrow F ring and, with the moon Pandora outside the ring, acts as a shepherd that helps confine it. Its gravity pulls strands of material out of the ring, producing channels and streamers that Cassini imaged in detail, and the moon passes through the ring's inner edge in a repeating pattern. Prometheus is elongated and well over a hundred kilometers long, with a low density and a surface scarred by ridges and craters. It is named after the Titan of Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods for humanity.

Open on the timeline