What would you do if you knew our moon was doomed for destruction? 🧐
"NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has captured dramatic footage of Phobos, Mars’ potato-shaped moon, crossing the face of the Sun. These observations can help scientists better understand the moon’s orbit and how its gravity pulls on the Martian surface, ultimately shaping the Red Planet’s crust and mantle," said NASA in its press release.
The video was taken with Perseverance’s next-generation Mastcam-Z camera on April 2, the 397th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, and provided the most zoomed-in video of a Phobos solar eclipse yet – and at the highest frame rate ever. The eclipse lasted a little over 40 seconds but proved long enough to amaze the Mastcam-Z team members who operate the camera.
"I knew it was going to be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this amazing,” said Rachel Howson of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. “It feels like a birthday or holiday when they arrive. You know what’s coming, but there is still an element of surprise when you get to see the final product.”Perhaps what makes the event even more spectacular is that Phobos is on a slow death spiral.
However, this doesn't mean that it does not serve a purpose. Scientists have been studying Phobos' gravity and how it has been slightly deforming the rocks in the planet’s crust and mantle. So far, geophysicists have been examining those changes to understand better how pliable the interior of Mars is, revealing more about the materials within the crust and mantle.
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Building a home on Mars … with bacteria?Chelsea “Foxanne” Gohd joined Space.com in 2018 and is now a Senior Writer, writing about everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a degree in Public Health and biological sciences, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Chelsea 'Foxanne' Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her on Twitter chelsea_gohd and foxannemusic.
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