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File:NASA's Hubble Sees Martian Moon Orbiting the Red Planet - PIA21837.gif

NASA's_Hubble_Sees_Martian_Moon_Orbiting_the_Red_Planet_-_PIA21837.gif ‎(728 × 485 pixels, file size: 456 KB, MIME type: image/gif, looped, 14 frames, 7.5 s)

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The sharp eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the tiny moon Phobos during its orbital trek around Mars. Because the moon is so small, it appears star-like in the Hubble pictures.

Over the course of 22 minutes, Hubble took 13 separate exposures, allowing astronomers to create a time-lapse video showing the diminutive moon's orbital path. The Hubble observations were intended to photograph Mars, and the moon's cameo appearance was a bonus.

A football-shaped object just 16.5 miles by 13.5 miles by 11 miles, Phobos is one of the smallest moons in the solar system. It is so tiny that it would fit comfortably inside the Washington, D.C. Beltway.

The little moon completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes, which is faster than Mars rotates. Rising in the Martian west, it runs three laps around the Red Planet in the course of one Martian day, which is about 24 hours and 40 minutes. It is the only natural satellite in the solar system that circles its planet in a time shorter than the parent planet's day.
Date (published)
Source Catalog page · Full-res ([ GIF])
Author NASA/ESA/STScI
This image or video was catalogued by Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: PIA21837.

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Hubble Space Telescope
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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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current16:25, 3 April 2023Thumbnail for version as of 16:25, 3 April 2023728 × 485 (456 KB)Junior Jumper (talk | contribs){{NASA Photojournal |catalog = PIA21837 |image = |video = |animation = yes |mission = Hubble Space Telescope |instrument = |caption = The sharp eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the tiny moon Phobos during its orbital trek around Mars. Because the moon is so small, it appears star-like in the Hubble pictures. Over the course of 22 minutes, Hubble took 13 separate exposures, allowing astronomers to create a time-lapse video showing the diminutive moon's orbital path. Th...

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