Credit & Copyright: Viking
Project,
JPL,
NASA;
Image mosaic by Edwin V. Bell II
(NSSDC/Raytheon ITSS)
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.
In this 1978
Viking 1 orbiter image,
the largest moon, Phobos, is indeed seen to be a
heavily cratered asteroid-like object.
About 17 miles across, Phobos really zips through the
Martian sky.
Actually rising above Mars' western horizon and setting in the east,
it completes an orbit in less than 8 hours.
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 it will likely crash into the
surface or be shattered by stress caused by the
relentless
tidal forces, the debris forming a ring around Mars.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
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Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami:
Phobos - Mars - Fobos - Mars
Publikacii so slovami: Phobos - Mars - Fobos - Mars | |
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