These images were taken by the Mars Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM), and show the two small moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is the image to the left and Deimos is on the right.
Phobos is 21 kilometers in diameter and orbits mars in a period of 7 hours and 39.2 minutes. Because its orbit is shorter in duration than a Martian day, to an observer on the surface, Phobos would rise in the west and set in the East, and it would appear about 1/3 the diameter of the Moon. Deimos is only 12 km in diameter, but orbits Mars over the course of 1 day, 6 hours and 17.9 minutes.
Originally, it was thought that the moons were composed of Carbonaceous chondrites, materials found in the outer asterioid belt. This led scientists to believe that the moons were primitive asteroids pulled into Mars’ orbit early in the planet’s history. The images from CRISM reveal that the majority of the moons are reddish in color, and probably originated from Mars. A crater on the surface of Phobos contains a grey colored ejecta material that indicates the presence of materials composed of iron, water and carbon.
Phobos is 21 kilometers in diameter and orbits mars in a period of 7 hours and 39.2 minutes. Because its orbit is shorter in duration than a Martian day, to an observer on the surface, Phobos would rise in the west and set in the East, and it would appear about 1/3 the diameter of the Moon. Deimos is only 12 km in diameter, but orbits Mars over the course of 1 day, 6 hours and 17.9 minutes.
Originally, it was thought that the moons were composed of Carbonaceous chondrites, materials found in the outer asterioid belt. This led scientists to believe that the moons were primitive asteroids pulled into Mars’ orbit early in the planet’s history. The images from CRISM reveal that the majority of the moons are reddish in color, and probably originated from Mars. A crater on the surface of Phobos contains a grey colored ejecta material that indicates the presence of materials composed of iron, water and carbon.
No comments:
Post a Comment