He rover Perseverance on Mars recorded the moment when the silhouette of the moon Phobos, a peculiar hazel-shaped body, covers part of the projected light of the Sun. The video, obtained by the robot’s advanced camera, is one of the clearest that NASA currently has over the satellite and it has been released for all astronomy enthusiasts.
The two moons of Mars are called Phobos and Deimos. According to the latest calculations, they are probably two very small asteroids that were captured by the planet’s gravity and have accompanied it for at least the last 2 billion years. The moon that stars in the Martian eclipse is characterized by having a shape similar to a potato and being full of small craters.
Phobos is the largest of the Mars satellites and also the closest. The satellite orbits its planet just 6,000 kilometers away. For comparison, the Moon is separated from Earth by an average of 384,000 kilometers. Therefore, although Phobos measures only 22.4 kilometers in diameter, when it coincides with the passage of the Sun it can cover an important part of its figure in the Martian sky.
This is how Phobos passed over the Sun from Mars
Phobos eclipses of the Sun are common on Mars. Phobos’ orbit is aligned with the Martian planet’s equator and takes only 7.6 hours to complete a full orbit of the planet. It is “normal” for the transit of Phobos to reflect on the Sun, although the event lasts only 30 seconds. Each rover that NASA has launched to Mars has captured the solar eclipse with Phobos. However, as robots have improved their optical technology, new videos provide a better understanding of the moon transit.
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