Solar eclipses on Mars
The two moons of
Eclipses caused by Phobos
Due to the small size of Phobos (about 20 by 25 km (12 by 16 mi)) and its rapid orbital motion, an observer on the surface of Mars would never experience a solar eclipse for longer than about thirty seconds. Phobos also takes only 7 hours 39 minutes to orbit Mars, while a Martian day is 24 hours 37 minutes long, meaning that Phobos can create two eclipses per Martian day. These are
Transits caused by Deimos
Deimos is too small (about 15 by 10 km (9.3 by 6.2 mi)) and too far from Mars to cause an eclipse. The best an observer on Mars would see is a small spot
View from Mars
March 5, 2024: NASA released images of transits of the moon Deimos, the moon Phobos and the planet Mercury as viewed by the Perseverance rover on the planet Mars.
View from Earth
Both moons are too small to cast a shadow on Mars that can be seen from Earth. However, shortly after the first
References
- ^ "See a solar eclipse from Mars". NBC News. 10 March 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ "JPL News -- NASA Rovers Watching Solar Eclipses by Mars Moons". Jpl.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ Jet Propulsion Laboratory--Mars, NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures Video of Solar Eclipse on Mars, California Institute of Technology, April 20, 2022.