Another animation, this time from April 24, 2009, made from 116 raw images from the Cassini spacecraft. The orbiting Cassini focused its camera on Prometheus as it dipped into the F ring and back out again, pulling the icy dust into wispy strands with its passing. Prometheus’ oblong shape can be seen clearly here…it measures about 42 miles wide by 96 miles long. It takes just about 15 hours for the moon to make a complete orbit around Saturn, skimming the thin F ring at regular intervals.
A more detailed image of this event can be seen here.
These images have not yet been calibrated or validated by JPL or SSI.
Raw image credits: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. GIF file: J. Major.
Lights in the Dark 
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