Phobos, one of the two moons of Mars, is on a collision course with the giant red planet. The National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) recently shared a picture of a lumpy celestial body that looks like a potato traveling through space. Phobos got this lumpy shape due to its weak gravity. Since the gravity was not strong enough to pull the body into a sphere, Phobos’ shape became lumpy.
“Phobos is the larger of Mars’ two moons — but it still measures only 17 x 14 x 11 miles (27 x 22 x 18 kilometers) in diameter. Since Phobos is so small, its gravity isn’t strong enough to pull it into a sphere (like Earth’s moon), giving it a lumpy shape,” NASA wrote on X.
About the moon Phobos
The moons of Mars are among the smallest moons in the solar system. However, Phobos is comparatively larger than its companion, Deimos. Phobos orbits just 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) above the surface of Mars and is the only moon to orbit so close to its planet. Phobos orbits Mars three times a day, which means you can see this ‘space potato’ three times a day on the surface of Mars. In contrast, another moon of Mars, Deimos, takes about 30 hours for each orbit.
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Published: June 22, 2024, 12:08 PM IST
