The Big Foto » phobos http://thebigfoto.com Life stories in photos Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:47:56 +0000 en hourly 1 Phobos & Deimos, Mars moons http://thebigfoto.com/phobos-deimos-mars-moons http://thebigfoto.com/phobos-deimos-mars-moons#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:06:26 +0000 admin http://thebigfoto.com/?p=337 Phobos is the larger and closer of Mars’ two small moons, the other being Deimos. It is named after the Greek god Phobos (which means “fear”), a son of Ares (Mars). A small, irregularly shaped object, Phobos orbits about 9.377 km from the center of Mars, closer to its primary than any other planetary moon.

Deimos is the smaller and outer of Mars’ two moons. It is named after Deimos, a figure representing dread in Greek Mythology.

Phobos and Deimos were discovered by Asaph Hall, Sr. on August  18, 1877  and  August 12, 1877.

A simulated view of the orbits of Phobos and Deimos.

orbits_of_phobos_and_deimos

Credit: JiFish

Enjoy the rich details of each image thank you to the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment).

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