<
https://www.sciencealert.com/surreal-nasa-footage-reveals-what-a-solar-eclipse-looks-like-on-mars>
'Every now and again, a reminder comes along that our planet really is unusual
in so many fabulous ways. Those reminders don't even have to come from far away
– they can be as close as our next-door neighbor.
Similar to Earth, Mars experiences moments where its moons cast shadows on its
surface. But "eclipses" on Mars, captured by NASA rovers Opportunity, Curiosity
(embedded below), and now Perseverance, are very different from those on Earth.
Mars' moons Phobos ("fear" in Ancient Greek) and Deimos ("dread") circle Mars
every 7.65 and 30.35 hours respectively, a relative blink compared to the
27-day orbit of Earth's moon.
They're also a lot smaller than the Moon, and considerably more lumpy – little
moontatoes, rather than the nice round disk we see shining so argently in our
night sky.
Technically, these events aren't eclipses as we would experience them, but
transits that never entirely block out the Sun's light. When Mars' lumpy
moonlets pass between the Sun and observers on the Martian surface, they don't
cover the star as completely as the Moon can from here on Earth.'
Via Rixty Dixet.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
