Doomed Moon
Posted in Astronomy at 12:00 on 6 November 2012
I haven’t done one of these for a while.
This is Phobos: one of Mars’s two moons, from Astronomy Picture of the Day, 28/10/12. Phobos definitely resembles a potato in this view. Its orbit is so close to Mars that it will eventually be broken up by tidal forces and the remnants smeared into a ring around the planet.
Tags: APOD, Astronomy Picture of the Day, Mars, Phobos