烏夔居士
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vaidurian.bsky.social
烏夔居士
@vaidurian.bsky.social
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aka. 臭黑居士, 秋柿居士
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coreyspowell.bsky.social
Here's the other Mars moon -- Phobos, a bit larger and closer, but still not much more than a space potato.

The Mars Express orbiter captured Phobos circling over the Martian surface, looking like a rock just hanging out in space. (Which is basically what it is.) 🧪

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap23073...
Phobos, the larger and inner of the two Martian moons, is the darkest moon in the entire Solar System. Its unusual orbit and color indicate that it may be a captured asteroid composed of a mixture of ice and dark rock. The featured assigned-color picture of Phobos near the edge of Mars was captured in late 2021 by ESA's robot spacecraft Mars Express, currently orbiting Mars. Phobos is a heavily cratered and barren moon, with its largest crater located on the far side. From images like this, Phobos has been determined to be covered by perhaps a meter of loose dust. Phobos orbits so close to Mars that from some places it would appear to rise and set twice a day, while from other places it would not be visible at all. Phobos' orbit around Mars is continually decaying -- it will likely break up with pieces crashing to the Martian surface in about 50 million years.
March 14, 2025 at 4:07 AM