Grand Tour Martian Moons
Posted: 10.01.2023, 17:15
After the discovery of Jupiter's Galilean Moons and several of Saturn's and Uranus, it was speculated Mars must have moons, the theory is the moons followed a golden ratio minus one, 0 for Mercury, 0 for Venus, 1 for Earth, 2 for Mars, 4 for Jupiter, 7 for Saturn, 12 for Uranus, and 22 for Neptune. At the time, for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, and eventually Saturn, this was the case of discovered moons and moons of Uranus and Neptune were being found. The speculation led to works of Mars in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels among others to feature it with two very small moons. It was in 1877 when Asaph Hall was observing Mars he noticed two very tiny dots traveling with it. It was the unmistakable sign of moons, two very small moons, Phobos and Deimos. It wasn't until Mariner 9 in 1972 that either was imaged in any detail as the first irregularly shaped objects to be imaged.
The two satellites established the motif of asteroids resembling space potatoes in later scifi films like Empire Strikes Back. Of the satellites, Deimos has a standard orbit slower than the rotation of Mars and has a smooth surface with a few boulders scattered. Phobos on the other hand orbits so quickly it rises in the west and sets in the east on Mars. Because of it's closeness, Phobos appears to be subject to wayward ejecta debris from large impacts on Mars itself causing crater chains or grooves. Of other note is Stickney, a crater large enough it must have almost shattered Phobos. Due to tidal forces, Phobos is spiralling inward by centimeters every year and will eventually break up into a ring in the future.
The formation method of the moons is unknown. Originally, it was thought Mars captured them from the nearby asteroid belt, however this does not explain their very low orbital eccentricity and inclination relative to Mars. More recently, evidence has been growing Mars experienced a large impact that shed material into orbit around it similar to leading theories of the formation of Earth's moon and this moon broke apart from an impact after formation, leaving the two small moons we see today.
This addon contains a 16K texture of Phobos and 8K for Deimos with a few topographic maps as well.
DOWNLOAD GRAND TOUR PHOBOS AND DEIMOS HERE!!!
- Potato-shaped Phobos orbits the imposingly large disk of Mars so fast it outpaces the latter's rotation period.
The two satellites established the motif of asteroids resembling space potatoes in later scifi films like Empire Strikes Back. Of the satellites, Deimos has a standard orbit slower than the rotation of Mars and has a smooth surface with a few boulders scattered. Phobos on the other hand orbits so quickly it rises in the west and sets in the east on Mars. Because of it's closeness, Phobos appears to be subject to wayward ejecta debris from large impacts on Mars itself causing crater chains or grooves. Of other note is Stickney, a crater large enough it must have almost shattered Phobos. Due to tidal forces, Phobos is spiralling inward by centimeters every year and will eventually break up into a ring in the future.
- Deimos is very understudied but is known to be shaped like a rubber duck.
The formation method of the moons is unknown. Originally, it was thought Mars captured them from the nearby asteroid belt, however this does not explain their very low orbital eccentricity and inclination relative to Mars. More recently, evidence has been growing Mars experienced a large impact that shed material into orbit around it similar to leading theories of the formation of Earth's moon and this moon broke apart from an impact after formation, leaving the two small moons we see today.
This addon contains a 16K texture of Phobos and 8K for Deimos with a few topographic maps as well.
DOWNLOAD GRAND TOUR PHOBOS AND DEIMOS HERE!!!