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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Phobos: Moon over Mars
NASA ^ | 22 Mar, 2024 | Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Zolt Levay (STScI) - Acknowledgment: J.Bell (ASU) and M.Wolff (SSI)

Posted on 03/22/2024 12:27:50 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: A tiny moon with a scary name, Phobos emerges from behind the Red Planet in this timelapse sequence from the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. Over 22 minutes the 13 separate exposures were captured near the 2016 closest approach of Mars to planet Earth. Martians have to look to the west to watch Phobos rise, though. The small moon is closer to its parent planet than any other moon in the Solar System, about 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) above the Martian surface. It completes one orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes. That's faster than a Mars rotation, which corresponds to about 24 hours and 40 minutes. So on Mars, Phobos can be seen to rise above the western horizon 3 times a day. Still, Phobos is doomed.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa; thatsnomoon
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.

1 posted on 03/22/2024 12:27:50 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 03/22/2024 12:28:05 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; America_Right; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔


3 posted on 03/22/2024 12:28:40 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
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To: MtnClimber

Speaking of phobias, that’s not a Mars bar under that moon.


4 posted on 03/22/2024 12:36:50 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: MtnClimber
Good shot of Phobos itself:
Phobos
5 posted on 03/22/2024 3:14:11 PM PDT by MikelTackNailer
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To: MtnClimber; mewzilla

A large swirl of white light, known as a "SpaceX spiral" was photographed during an
aurora display above Iceland last week. (Image credit: Shang Yang)

6 posted on 03/23/2024 6:41:38 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: MikelTackNailer

That moon looks like a battle damaged Death Star.


7 posted on 03/23/2024 8:30:54 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: minnesota_bound
The prevailing theory is that it's a gravity-captured asteroid a very short 5,000 miles out from Mars really hurtling - it appears three times each Martian day. It's also described as "doomed"; as gravitational forces will rip it apart in...100,000 years.

I guess the Musk Colony should stick to short-term phone contracts with that hanging over their heads. LOL

8 posted on 03/23/2024 11:00:03 AM PDT by MikelTackNailer (Dave? I'm feeling much better now. Dave?)
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