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Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA ^
| 4/14/08
| HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA
Posted on 04/14/2008 1:42:35 PM PDT by sig226
Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars
Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA
Explanation: This moon is doomed. Mars, the red planet named for the Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. These martian moons may well be captured asteroids originating in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or perhaps from even more distant reaches of the Solar System. The larger moon, Phobos, is indeed seen to be a cratered, asteroid-like object in this stunning color image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, recorded at a resolution of about seven meters per pixel. But Phobos orbits so close to Mars - about 5,800 kilometers above the surface compared to 400,000 kilometers for our Moon - that gravitational tidal forces are dragging it down. In 100 million years or so Phobos will likely be shattered by stress caused by the relentless tidal forces, the debris forming a decaying ring around Mars.
TOPICS: Astronomy Picture of the Day
KEYWORDS: apod
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How could I resist
Phobos, Doomed Moon of Mars?
What a great name for a B movie - maybe even straight to dvd. Where are the women astronauts in bikinis? :)
1
posted on
04/14/2008 1:42:36 PM PDT
by
sig226
To: fnord; Number57; KevinDavis; rdb3; MNJohnnie; thoughtomator; RightWhale; proudofthesouth; ...
2
posted on
04/14/2008 1:43:32 PM PDT
by
sig226
(Real power is not the ability to destroy an enemy. It is the willingness to do it.)
To: sig226
Obviously, Phobos is doomed because of the USA’s high carbon emissions.
3
posted on
04/14/2008 1:51:14 PM PDT
by
PeterFinn
(Charlton Heston & Ronald Reagan - my two favorite Presidents.)
To: sig226
I once read that the two Martian moons race around Mars in opposite directions, giving the appearance of Fear and Panic.
4
posted on
04/14/2008 1:54:27 PM PDT
by
elcid1970
(My cartridges are dipped in pig grease.)
To: PeterFinn
Looks like something escaped from Uranus.
5
posted on
04/14/2008 1:55:36 PM PDT
by
dblshot
To: sig226
“Phobos, Doomed Moon of Mars?”
Bush’s fault!
To: sig226
7
posted on
04/14/2008 1:56:48 PM PDT
by
wolfcreek
(I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
To: sig226
That thing should be excised pronto.
8
posted on
04/14/2008 1:59:39 PM PDT
by
mtbopfuyn
(The fence is "absolutely not the answer" - Gov. Rick Perry (R, TX))
To: sig226
When magnified, the lighter patterns look very unusual.
9
posted on
04/14/2008 2:01:35 PM PDT
by
wolfcreek
(I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
To: elcid1970
I once read that the two Martian moons race around Mars in opposite directions, giving the appearance of Fear and Panic. They both orbit in the same direction, but Phobos is below the geosynchronous (or whatever the Martian equivalent is) radius, so it is moving around Mars faster than Mars's rotation and thus rises in the west and sets in the east.
10
posted on
04/14/2008 2:06:27 PM PDT
by
KarlInOhio
(Rattenschadenfreude: joy at a Democrat's pain, especially Hillary's pain caused by Obama.)
To: sig226
Where are the women astronauts in bikinis? :)
11
posted on
04/14/2008 2:37:19 PM PDT
by
Charles Martel
(The Tree of Liberty thirsts.)
To: eCSMaster
The earth has a feaver. Mars caught it from us. Now the Mars baby will be sick too. All Bush’s fault!
12
posted on
04/14/2008 2:38:19 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(Obama: baby is punishment; tax increase is bundle of joy)
To: sig226
Great! Scrap the Mars missions! Who will want to go there to colonize, when Phobos is going to fall apart and come raining down on all our colonists in 100 million years?
13
posted on
04/14/2008 3:05:33 PM PDT
by
BoneHead
(We now return control of your computer to you........)
To: sig226
Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic.
I think I just discovered the names of my next two dogs!
14
posted on
04/14/2008 3:12:10 PM PDT
by
ChocChipCookie
(<----- Typical White Person)
To: Charles Martel
One of my most favorite INFOCOM games (loved to scratch & sniff addition)....
8^)
15
posted on
04/14/2008 4:24:25 PM PDT
by
The SISU kid
(I feel really homesick all the time & so do all the other aliens.....)
Been there..
16
posted on
04/14/2008 4:31:32 PM PDT
by
RandallFlagg
(Satisfaction was my sin)
To: wolfcreek; sig226; mtbopfuyn; dblshot; elcid1970
Decisions, decisions... should I post the 141kB 3D image that requires 3D glasses or just link it?
I'm going to post it, since this is a known picture thread to begin with, and bandwidth should be less of a concern for most on it. It really is interesting, if you have the glasses. I took me getting out the "better" 3Ds that I have stolen from my daughters toy boxes, and a minute of looking at it, to really appreciate the dimensionality, so patience...
17
posted on
04/14/2008 4:35:45 PM PDT
by
AFPhys
((.Praying for President Bush, our troops, their families, and all my American neighbors..))
To: KarlInOhio; BoneHead; ChocChipCookie
You may like to see the 3D shot of Phobos I just posted...
18
posted on
04/14/2008 4:37:40 PM PDT
by
AFPhys
((.Praying for President Bush, our troops, their families, and all my American neighbors..))
To: AFPhys
A perfect new and permanent home for Osama bin Laden.
;^)
19
posted on
04/14/2008 5:39:43 PM PDT
by
elcid1970
(My cartridges are dipped in pig grease.)
To: AFPhys
20
posted on
04/14/2008 8:56:17 PM PDT
by
Ciexyz
(My Comments/Ping List no longer downloads.)
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