Phobos is one of the two moons of the planet Mars. It orbits only a few thousand miles above Mars’ surface which is closer than any other Moon in the solar system. It moves across the planet’s sky twice in a day. It has an orbit period of 7.7 hours. This Martian moon is covered in craters and the largest of them is Stickney.
This crater is thought to have nearly destroyed Phobos completely. It is 9 kilometers wide and it is an impact crater. The moon is named after the son of the Greek god of War, Ares and it means fear.
Quick Facts: –
- Phobos also has a second name as it is known as Mars I sometimes.
- This moon was discovered by an American scientist Asaph Hall on August 17, 1877.
- At that time, scientists believed that it was created by Martians.
- It is believed to be formed from dust and rock. Another possible reason is an impact on Mars.
- This moon has been photographed by numerous spacecraft that went to study the planet Mars.
- The first man made satellite to take real photographs of Phobos was the Mariner 9 in 1971.
- This moon is dark gray in color and it is one of the darkest and least reflective objects in the solar system.
- It has very low gravity which is also a reason for its lack of atmosphere.
- In the 1950’s, some astronomers started to believe that this moon is hollow but it turned out to be incorrect.
