Posted on 03/13/2013 7:44:50 AM PDT by BenLurkin
On March 25, 2010, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on their blog that ESA’s study of the mass of Phobos had been accepted for publication in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters. The announcement excerpted startling conclusions of ESA’s findings: “We conclude that the interior of Phobos likely contains large voids. When applied to various hypotheses bearing on the origin of Phobos, these results are inconsistent with the proposition that Phobos is a captured asteroid.” (1,2)
Since that time, a number of prominent ancient astronaut blogs have had plenty to say about the findings. The ESA findings were most recently written about in December of 2012.
It should be noted here that Russia also launched a second probe to Phobos on November 9, 2011, but the mission failed to escape Earth orbit and presumably fell to the sea. Most likely, chatter about the unsuccessful Russian Phobos-Grunt probe renewed interest in the ESA findings during 2012.
To date, internet speculation on Phobos has included: it’s a gigantic spaceship possibly built as an orbiting station or space observatory; a generation starship that arrived from another star system and was placed in parking orbit around Mars; it was being built in Mars orbit for interstellar travel but was never completed; and, it’s a functional (or non-functional) gargantuan planet-killing space bomb.
Although Phobos is referred to as a moon of Mars, its actual size is more like one of the larger asteroids located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. To give an example, the asteroid Gaspara is one of the larger main belt asteroids, coming in at 11km. Phobos is also 11km. To give further perspective, Earth’s Moon is 1,737km. So, Phobos is a moonlet of Mars at best.
(Excerpt) Read more at whofortedblog.com ...
The Moties minded it.
IBTPOGT (In Before The Picture(s) of Giorgio Tsoukalos)
The HeeChee
While I doubt Phobos is an alien space ship, the idea has merit for us.
CHON Food Factory.
If people are afraid of this, I think it should be called Ramaphobia.
If dust accreted around an icy core and, following gravitational capture by Mars, tidal forces caused the ice to sublime, one would be left with a hollow body. Occams razor and all that
It was mined for useful materials, and then left behind by the elder race of man as they departed the solar system for points unknown (to us) ... they will be returning in ...
2112
:)
I agree, accretions around an ice core. A comet surrounded by captured rock that is then itself captured by Mars.
Asteroids are not equal.
Spoil sport! I personally prefer the “Death Star covered with interstellar dust” answer.
You sayin that someone/something named Occam used his razor to shave the ice into some really sublime shapes, or something like that?
Sounds good to me.
It’s the simplest answer I’ve heard yet.
Buzz sounds a little like Jim Lehrer...
mining is the least complex theory ~ its in line with signs of Earth, Venus and Mercury having been mined before half a billion years ago ~
In what way?
a generation starship that arrived from another star system and was placed in parking orbit around Mars;
I remember reading a science fiction novel back in the '60, that had Phobos as an (alien occupied) generation ship. This was a marginally habitable Lowellian Mars, predating the Mariner probe that showed us what a beat up nasty place Mars really was.
Wish I could remember what that book was.
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