Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2020 November 8
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                    Martian Moon Phobos from Mars Express
     Image Credit: [3]G. Neukum ([4]FU Berlin) et al., [5]Mars Express,
                [6]DLR, [7]ESA; Acknowledgement: Peter Masek

   Explanation: Why is Phobos so dark? [8]Phobos, the largest and
   innermost of two Martian moons, is the darkest moon in the entire
   [9]Solar System. Its unusual orbit and color indicate that it may be a
   captured [10]asteroid composed of a mixture of ice and dark rock. The
   [11]featured picture of Phobos near the limb of [12]Mars was captured
   in 2010 by the robot spacecraft [13]Mars Express currently orbiting
   Mars. [14]Phobos is a heavily cratered and [15]barren moon, with its
   [16]largest crater located on the far side. From images like this,
   [17]Phobos has been determined to be covered by perhaps a meter of
   [18]loose dust. Phobos [19]orbits so close to Mars that from some
   places it would appear to rise and set twice a day, but from other
   places it would not be visible at all. [20]Phobos' orbit around Mars is
   continually decaying -- it will likely [21]break up with pieces
   crashing to the Martian surface in about 50 million years.

                    Tomorrow's picture: in green company
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [37]Specific rights apply.
              [38]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2011/phoboslimb_marsexpress_2592.jpg
   3. http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMGQOXLDMD_people_0_iv.html
   4. https://www.fu-berlin.de/
   5. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express
   6. https://www.dlr.de/pf
   7. https://www.esa.int/
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobos_(moon)
   9. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/overview/
  10. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/overview/
  11. http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=480&st=195&p=167059&#entry167059
  12. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mars/overview/
  13. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMFU55V9ED_0.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080414.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031109.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080410.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061203.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980914.html
  19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rxqZcO-0uI
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990313.html
  21. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008AGUFM.P51C1423H/abstract
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201107.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=201108
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201109.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/