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The Moons of Mars

Phobos and Deimos

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Mars has two moon, Phobos and Deimos. They were discovered by the American astronomer Asaph Hall (1829-1907) in 1877.

They are both small moons; Phobos is 13.8 miles (22.2 km) across and Deimos is only 7.8 miles (12.6 km) across.

These moons are heavily-cratered and are composed of rock and iron. They are probably former asteroids that were captured by Mars’ gravitational field. They have no atmosphere.

Phobos

Phobos photo 1 Phobos photo 2 Phobos (meaning “fear”) is the larger of the two tiny moons of Mars. It is only 13.8 miles (22.2 km) across and has a mass of 1.08 x 1016. It orbits Mars at a mean distance of 5,600 miles (9,000 km). Its major feature is a large crater, named Stickney (Hall’s wife’s maiden name), which is 6.2 miles (10 km) wide. Phobos was discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877.

Deimos

Deimos photo 1 Deimos (meaning “terror”) is the smaller of the two tiny moons of Mars. Deimos is only 7.8 miles (12.6 km) across and has a mass of 1.80 x 1015. It orbits at a mean distance of 14,300 miles (23,000 km) from Mars. It was discovered by A. Hall in 1877.

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