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Moonlet in the "G"-Ring
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Caption NASA:"The faint "G"-Ring surrounding Saturn offers up a glimpse of its newfound tiny moonlet. The moonlet is near the center of this image.
A long exposure of 46" was required to capture the light from this tiny object and "G"-Ring, so the moonlet and a few stars have been smeared by motion, the stars showing up as short diagonal dashes.
The moonlet has also been smeared and appears to be a short vertical dash that is aligned with the Ring.
In August 2008 Cassini scientists spotted this moonlet, dubbed S/2008 S 1. It orbits in an arc, or partial ring, within the "G"-Ring. Imaging team scientists estimated the moonlet's diameter at about half a kilometer (one-third mile). For earlier images of this moonlet, see PIA11148.
This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the Rings from about 14° above the Ring-Plane. The image was taken in Visible Light with the Cassini Spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 20, 2009. The view was acquired at a distance of approx. 1,2 MKM (about 746.000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is roughly 7 Km (a little more than 4 miles) per pixel".
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