NASA Spotlight: The eclipse of the moons of Mars is the astronomical photo of the day

The photo highlighted today by NASA shows the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos eclipsing each other. The sequence of images captured by a probe is displayed on the video

The astronomical photo highlighted by NASA this Monday (26th) shows a rare eclipse between the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express probe last year.

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In the sequence of images we observe the moon Phobos more prominently: in addition to being the larger of the two objects, it is in the foreground from the perspective of the spacecraft. This object orbits Mars three times a day, with a retrograde motion relative to Earth’s Moon.

Occultations like this are relatively common on Mars, as is the Phobos solar eclipse, but observation depends on the placement of probes and rovers on the Red Planet. Since this is not the priority of the missions, it is rare that the cameras are in the right place to record these moments.

About Phobos and Deimos

With an average diameter of 22.5 km, Phobos is the largest and closest to the Martian surface, just 6,000 km above sea level. Its name comes from Greek mythology, meaning “fear,” and astronomers predict the object will collide with Mars in 30 to 50 million years (the blink of an eye, on a cosmic scale).

Deimos, the smallest and most distant, has a radius it has an average length of 6.2 km (3.9 miles) and orbits Mars every 30.3 hours, at a distance of 23,460 km (14,580 miles). His name is a reference to the Greek god of fear and terror. Due to its size, Deimos is highly non-spherical and is approximately 57% the size of Phobos.

Source: APOD

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Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.