Hook 'er up with rocket boosters! Yeah!
Posted on 11/10/2015 4:49:46 PM PST by BenLurkin
One of the most striking features we see on images of Phobos is the parallel sets of grooves on the moon’s surface. They were originally thought to be fractures caused by an impact long ago. But scientists now say the grooves are early signs of the structural failure that will ultimately destroy this moon.
"We think that Phobos has already started to fail, and the first sign of this failure is the production of these grooves," said Terry Hurford, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
...
Mars' gravity is pulling in Phobos closer by about 2 meters (6.6 feet) every hundred years. The orbit will get lower and lower until it reaches a level known as the Roche Limit. This is the point where the tidal forces between the two sides of the moon are so different that it gets torn apart.
Hurford and his colleagues, who presented their latest findings at the annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society this week, also delivered other bad news about the interior of Phobos – which could ultimately speed up the demise of the moon. Phobos' insides are likely to be just a big pile of rubble - barely holding together - surrounded by a layer of powdery regolith about 100 meters (330 feet) thick.
...
Phobos' grooves....new modeling by Hurford and his team supports the idea that the grooves are more like "stretch marks" that occur when Phobos gets deformed by tidal forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Clearly, we are doomed.
Women and minorities hardest hit.
Sorry, I had to.
ping
I say Phobos is too big to fail.
It;s an abandonded starship.
Hook 'er up with rocket boosters! Yeah!
Yeh. They laughed at his illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator, didn’t they? Let’s see who is laughing now!
Clearly Lunar Climate Change is coming to Phoboes.
We must cut down our carbon emissions NOW!
Phobos is about to meet its Deimoise
Bush’s fault.
Excellent!
I wonder if, once the Phobos breakup happens, there’ll be enough material left for a temporary ring around Mars
Global warming is the cause. It’s right there in front of our eyes. Our moon, the real moon, is next.
/johnny
Scientists estimate the ultimate destruction of this tiny moon (22 kilometers/13.5-miles in diameter) might take place in about 30 to 50 million years.
More computer modeling with little data or understanding of the situation equals dire forecasts and demands for grants.
My worst Phobos phobia is coming true.
Thoughts and prayers to the endangered Phobians hit hardest.
Who did it? Bush? global warming? Whitey?
+1
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.