NASA video on Mars reveals a huge eye during a solar eclipse.
The NASA Perseverance rover has captured stunning images of Phobos, one of Mars' moons, during a recent solar eclipse on the red planet.
During its meticulous search for microbial life on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover has been reporting curious events that have occurred during its journey. Recently, one of its numerous onboard cameras managed to capture an impressive moment of a solar eclipse, when Phobos, one of Mars' two moons, passed between the red planet and the sun.
In a social media post, the rover expressed: “Have you ever felt like someone is watching you? That’s how I felt when I observed this transit of the Martian moon Phobos. The pupil in this 'wink' is the potato-shaped moon, and the iris is our sun.”
This event was recorded by the rover's Mastcam-Z on September 30, during the 1285th Martian day of the mission. It was a moment when the satellite passed directly between the sun and a part of the Martian surface, blocking a large portion of the solar disk. At the same time, Phobos appeared as a large black disk moving quickly across the face of the sun, and its shadow, or antumbra, was cast upon the planet.
Phobos, whose name comes from the god of fear in Greek mythology and was discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877, is approximately 157 times smaller than Earth's moon, reaching only 27 kilometers at its widest point, compared to the 3,475 kilometers of the Earth's moon. Since 2004, Mars rovers have been capturing images of Phobos, providing a rich source of data for scientists to study.
It has been determined that Phobos' orbit is nearly perfectly aligned with Mars' equator and is relatively close to its surface, resulting in a rapid trajectory that completes its orbit in just 7.6 hours. Additionally, Phobos is gradually moving closer to Mars at a rate of about six feet every 100 years, a decline that suggests a possible collision with the planet or its disintegration due to gravitational stresses in about 50 million years.
