Asaph Hall, an American astronomer, discovered two small moons circling the planet Mars in 1877.…
Browsing: Phobos
Phobos is one of the two small moons orbiting Mars, the other being Deimos. Discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877, Phobos is the larger and closer of the two moons, with an average radius of about 11 kilometers (7 miles). It orbits Mars at a distance of approximately 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles), making it one of the closest moons to its planet in the solar system. Phobos is irregularly shaped and heavily cratered, with a surface covered in dust and loose rocks. Its most prominent feature is the large impact crater named Stickney, which spans about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) in diameter. Due to its proximity to Mars, Phobos orbits the planet in just under 8 hours, causing it to rise and set twice each Martian day. Scientists believe Phobos may be a captured asteroid or a remnant from a larger body that was destroyed. Its eventual fate is to either crash into Mars or break apart and form a ring around the planet due to tidal forces.
Perseverance Captures Phobos Eclipsing the Sun NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera system…
The Mastcam-Z camera recorded video of Phobos, one of the Red Planet’s two moons, to…
ESA’s Mars Express confirmed Phobos sporadically reflects solar wind particles, unlike Earth’s Moon. By performing…
Dr. Ryuki Hyodo shares the science behind JAXA’s upcoming MMX mission to the Martian moons,…
Japan’s MMX mission will collect Phobos soil to study Mars’ history and potential habitability. Japan’s…
The role of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission in the new era of Martian…
Martian ions have been embedding in Phobos’ near side for billions of years. A sample…
NASA’s InSight mission provides data from the surface of Mars. Its seismometer, equipped with electronics…
Taken with the infrared camera on NASA’s Odyssey orbiter, the images reveal temperature variations aboard…
When NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover landed in 2012, it brought along eclipse glasses. The solar…
The weird shapes and colors of the tiny Martian moons Phobos and Deimos have inspired…
Southwest Research Institute scientists posit a violent birth of the tiny Martian moons Phobos and…
Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, are seen in this movie put together from…
New research from NASA suggests that the solar wind creates a complex electrical environment around…
NASA’s Mars Odyssey has gained its first look at the Martian moon Phobos, pursuing a…
New observations from NASA’s MAVEN Mission have scientists closer to solving the mystery of how…
New research presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences reveals…