Skip to comments.
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Phobos over Mars
NASA ^
| 31 Jul, 2023
| Image Credit: ESA, DLR, FU Berlin, Mars Express; Processing & CC BY 2.0 License: Andrea Luck
Posted on 07/31/2023 12:26:11 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Why is Phobos so dark? Phobos, the largest and innermost of the two Martian moons, is the darkest moon in the entire Solar System. Its unusual orbit and color indicate that it may be a captured asteroid composed of a mixture of ice and dark rock. The featured assigned-color picture of Phobos near the edge of Mars was captured in late 2021 by ESA's robot spacecraft Mars Express, currently orbiting Mars. Phobos is a heavily cratered and barren moon, with its largest crater located on the far side. From images like this, Phobos has been determined to be covered by perhaps a meter of loose dust. Phobos orbits so close to Mars that from some places it would appear to rise and set twice a day, while from other places it would not be visible at all. Phobos' orbit around Mars is continually decaying -- it will likely break up with pieces crashing to the Martian surface in about 50 million years.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail). For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
07/31/2023 12:26:29 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; America_Right; ...
Pinging the APOD list.
๐ช ๐ ๐ ๐
3
posted on
07/31/2023 12:27:22 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
Why is Phobos so dark?....................
Why is Deimos so white?.................
4
posted on
07/31/2023 12:28:22 PM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: Red Badger
To get to the other side?
5
posted on
07/31/2023 12:31:08 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: Red Badger
Why is Phobos so dark?.................... Why is Deimos so white?.................
So astronomers can pick a favorite to virtue signal that they are not racists.
6
posted on
07/31/2023 12:32:34 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: Red Badger
[Why is Deimos]
7
posted on
07/31/2023 12:33:26 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: Red Badger
Phobos is conserving energy for climate change.
8
posted on
07/31/2023 12:35:32 PM PDT
by
Larry Lucido
(Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
To: MtnClimber
Orbital speed of 4782.5698 miles per hour?
Nice of it to stop for a quick pic before it kept on going - :o
9
posted on
07/31/2023 12:36:18 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: Red Badger
Because NASA has gone WOKE.
In this pic we see ‘mixed race’ Phobos being rejected by ‘white’ Mars/sarc
10
posted on
07/31/2023 12:38:30 PM PDT
by
Beowulf9
To: Red Badger
I can almost see Marvin Martian. I think he has a condo there; on the beach.
11
posted on
07/31/2023 12:39:23 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: MtnClimber
If there were a shadow under Phobos in that pic, it would look just like a lava boulder sitting on a Hawaiian beach.
12
posted on
07/31/2023 12:39:39 PM PDT
by
repentant_pundit
(http://www.LibertyLifeboat.org)
To: SaveFerris
Probably a spacecraft sent by Maxine Waters to find where the astronauts planted the flag before the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter lands and makes the planet tip over.
13
posted on
07/31/2023 12:45:59 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
[Maxine Waters]
14
posted on
07/31/2023 12:55:33 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: SaveFerris
To get to the other side? To prove to the armadillos that it can be done.
15
posted on
07/31/2023 1:05:13 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: Red Badger
Get ready for Phobos to demand reparations from Deimos!
16
posted on
07/31/2023 1:12:42 PM PDT
by
TonyM
(Score Event)
To: MtnClimber
50 million years! I canโt wait that long.
17
posted on
07/31/2023 1:21:32 PM PDT
by
NavyShoe
To: MtnClimber
18
posted on
07/31/2023 2:39:59 PM PDT
by
No name given
(Anonymous is who youโll know me as )
To: MtnClimber
#2 I saw an image like that on ‘Stargate Atlantis’ tv show where some aliens built a hidden base in their small moon. A deranged alien fired the rockets on a spacecraft parked inside and changed the orbit causing it to hit the atmosphere and breakup.
19
posted on
08/01/2023 12:23:25 AM PDT
by
minnesota_bound
(Need more money to buy everything now)
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.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson