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The inner part of the ring formed a large moon. Gravitational interactions between this moon and the outer ring formed Phobos and Deimos. Later, the large moon crashed into Mars, but the two small moons remained in orbit. This theory agrees with the fine-grained surface of the moons and their high porosity.
Phobos (/ ˈ f oʊ b ə s /; systematic designation: Mars I) is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. Phobos is named after the Greek god of fear and panic, who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos.
Deimos (/ ˈ d aɪ m ə s /; systematic designation: Mars II) [11] is the smaller and outer of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Phobos. Deimos has a mean radius of 6.2 km (3.9 mi) and takes 30.3 hours to orbit Mars . [ 5 ]
Mars may have had a single moon before something smashed into it, tearing it asunder into the two moons we see today. In a study published Monday in Nature, scientists explained how they used the ...
Mars has two relatively small (compared to Earth's) natural moons, Phobos (about 22 kilometres (14 mi) in diameter) and Deimos (about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) in diameter), which orbit close to the planet. The origin of both moons is unclear, although a popular theory states that they were asteroids captured into Martian orbit.
For example, Mars is orbited by two tiny potato-shaped moons called Phobos and Deimos, which are likely two asteroids that were captured by the red planet’s gravity.
Mars’s moons don’t get much credit. But they’re small, lifeless, and weird little things. Here’s everything you should know about them.
Mars I: 1877: Hall named his two newly discovered satellites of Mars Phobus and Deimus: Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol. 92, No. 2187, pp. 47/48 14 March 1878 (signed 7 February 1878). The names were subsequently amended to Phobos and Deimos. Deimos: Mars II 1880: Camille Flammarion: Triton: Neptune I: 1846