Posted on Jul 3, 2022
APOD: 2022 July 3 - Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars
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Good afternoon, Rallypoint, and welcome to the July 3rd edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars." You may recall the names of the two Martian moons: Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Panic). Of the two, Phobos orbits Mars at a mere 5,800 km (our Moon is 400,000 km from Earth). When the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter (MRO) was first placed in orbit about Mars in March 2006, its orbit carried the spacecraft on a highly elliptical path ranging from 426km to 44,500 km above the planet's surface.
As MRO was inserted into its final science orbit of 450km in 2006-2007, it was able to snap this closeup of Phobos as the two passed by each other. Given their obvious proximity, some ground controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had to be pretty confident in their calculations to pull this off. This is one of several photos of Phobos taken by the MRO that have been published since December 2006.
As MRO was inserted into its final science orbit of 450km in 2006-2007, it was able to snap this closeup of Phobos as the two passed by each other. Given their obvious proximity, some ground controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had to be pretty confident in their calculations to pull this off. This is one of several photos of Phobos taken by the MRO that have been published since December 2006.
APOD: 2022 July 3 - Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
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Space
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Astronomy
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Thank you my space-exploration advocate friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the July 3, 2022 Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD); Doomed Moon of Mars
Image: Doomed Moon of Mars - Phobos
APOD Background
Explanation: This moon is doomed. Mars, the red planet named for the Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. These martian moons may well be captured asteroids originating in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or perhaps from even more distant reaches of our Solar System. The larger moon, Phobos, is indeed seen to be a cratered, asteroid-like object in this stunning color image from the robotic Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, with objects as small as 10 meters visible. But Phobos orbits so close to Mars - about 5,800 kilometers above the surface compared to 400,000 kilometers for our Moon - that gravitational tidal forces are dragging it down. In perhaps 50 million years, Phobos is expected to disintegrate into a ring of debris.
David Bowie's last performance ever, "Life On Mars"
Rest in peace David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, who died on January 10, 2016, New York City, US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THz5x0dS5fc
FYI SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SPC Michael Terrell CPL Douglas Chrysler PO3 Edward Riddle SSgt David M. SSG Michael Noll SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D CSM Charles Hayden GySgt Jack Wallace CSM Bob Stanek SGM Bill Frazer SPC Nancy Greene 1SG Joseph DarteySPC Lyle Montgomery MAJ Bob Miyagishima PO1 William "Chip" Nagel MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PFC Andrew "Tommy" M.
Image: Doomed Moon of Mars - Phobos
APOD Background
Explanation: This moon is doomed. Mars, the red planet named for the Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. These martian moons may well be captured asteroids originating in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or perhaps from even more distant reaches of our Solar System. The larger moon, Phobos, is indeed seen to be a cratered, asteroid-like object in this stunning color image from the robotic Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, with objects as small as 10 meters visible. But Phobos orbits so close to Mars - about 5,800 kilometers above the surface compared to 400,000 kilometers for our Moon - that gravitational tidal forces are dragging it down. In perhaps 50 million years, Phobos is expected to disintegrate into a ring of debris.
David Bowie's last performance ever, "Life On Mars"
Rest in peace David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, who died on January 10, 2016, New York City, US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THz5x0dS5fc
FYI SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SPC Michael Terrell CPL Douglas Chrysler PO3 Edward Riddle SSgt David M. SSG Michael Noll SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D CSM Charles Hayden GySgt Jack Wallace CSM Bob Stanek SGM Bill Frazer SPC Nancy Greene 1SG Joseph DarteySPC Lyle Montgomery MAJ Bob Miyagishima PO1 William "Chip" Nagel MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PFC Andrew "Tommy" M.
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LTC Stephen F.
AL DI MEOLA – Speak a Volcano, Live at Leverkusener Jazztage, November 2006AL DI MEOLA – guitarMARIO PARMISANO – keyboardsGUMBI ORTIZ – percussionJOEL TAYLOR...
Image: Four images of Phobos crossing the Sun on May 9, 2022
AL DI MEOLA - Red Moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb3C78WsSJY
FYI Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SGT Tiffanie G. SSgt Kelly D. Sgt (Join to see) [ CWO4 Terrence ClarkCWO3 Dave Alcantara] SSgt Brian Brakke CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.DSSG William JonesCMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SFC Bernard Walko SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL PO3 Donald Murphy Sgt Diane E. MSgt Gloria Vance SGT Mary G. PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Deb Root-White
AL DI MEOLA - Red Moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb3C78WsSJY
FYI Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SGT Tiffanie G. SSgt Kelly D. Sgt (Join to see) [ CWO4 Terrence ClarkCWO3 Dave Alcantara] SSgt Brian Brakke CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.DSSG William JonesCMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SFC Bernard Walko SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL PO3 Donald Murphy Sgt Diane E. MSgt Gloria Vance SGT Mary G. PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Deb Root-White
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PO3 Edward Riddle
Thank You Brother Steve for this photo and info on Phobos, one of the moons around Mars, and for this really moving song from David Bowies (David Robert Jones) last performance ever - Life On Mars.
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So this moon is expected to disintegrate...I wonder what Mars will look like with rings?
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SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D
Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Looks like our galaxy is getting "Saturnized".
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Is its' shape non-spherical as it appears or is that some sort of angular optical illusion?
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
Here is Phobos from a little further away.
https://www.rallypoint.com/shared-links/apod-2020-november-8-martian-moon-phobos-from-mars-express
https://www.rallypoint.com/shared-links/apod-2020-november-8-martian-moon-phobos-from-mars-express
APOD: 2020 November 8 - Martian Moon Phobos from Mars Express | RallyPoint
Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Martian Moon Phobos from Mars Express." Mars Express is a European Space Agency (ESA) venture, and was launched in June 2003. It has been in orbit around Mars since December 2003, and is currently expected to be decommissioned in 2022. One key discovery is the presence of a subglacial lake (of water) in 2018. This lake is similar to Lake Vostok in Antarctica. This...
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