{"id":12354,"date":"2024-10-30T18:05:08","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T22:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-perseverance-captures-googly-eye-during-solar-eclipse\/"},"modified":"2024-10-30T18:05:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T22:05:08","slug":"nasas-perseverance-captures-googly-eye-during-solar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-perseverance-captures-googly-eye-during-solar-eclipse\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Perseverance Captures \u2018Googly Eye\u2019 During Solar Eclipse"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s Perseverance Captures \u2018Googly Eye\u2019 During Solar Eclipse<\/h2>\n

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4 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover captured the silhouette of the Martian moon Phobos as it passed in front of the Sun on Sept. 30, 2024. The video shows the transit speeded up by four times, followed by the eclipse in real time. NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tiny, potato-shaped moon Phobos, one of two Martian moons, cast a silhouette as it passed in front of the Sun, creating an eye in Mars\u2019 sky.<\/em><\/p>\n

From its perch on the western wall of Mars\u2019 Jezero Crater, NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover recently spied a \u201cgoogly eye\u201d peering down from space. The pupil in this celestial gaze is the Martian moon Phobos, and the iris is our Sun.<\/p>\n

Captured by the rover\u2019s Mastcam-Z on Sept. 30, the 1,285th Martian day of Perseverance\u2019s mission, the event took place when the potato-shaped moon passed directly between the Sun and a point on the surface of Mars, obscuring a large part of the Sun\u2019s disc. At the same time that Phobos appeared as a large black disc rapidly moving across the face of the Sun, its shadow, or antumbra, moved across the planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

Astronomer Asaph Hall named the potato-shaped moon<\/a> in 1877, after the god of fear and panic in Greek mythology; the word \u201cphobia\u201d comes from Phobos. (And the word for fear of potatoes, and perhaps potato-shaped moons, is potnonomicaphobia.) He named Mars\u2019 other moon Deimos, after Phobos\u2019 mythological twin brother.<\/p>\n

Roughly 157 times smaller in diameter than Earth\u2019s Moon, Phobos<\/a> is only about 17 miles (27 kilometers) at its widest point. Deimos is even smaller.<\/p>\n

Rapid Transit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because Phobos\u2019 orbit is almost perfectly in line with the Martian equator and relatively close to the planet\u2019s surface, transits of the moon occur on most days of the Martian year. Due to its quick orbit (about 7.6 hours to do a full loop around Mars), a transit of Phobos usually lasts only 30 seconds or so.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time that a NASA rover has witnessed Phobos blocking the Sun\u2019s rays. Perseverance has captured<\/a> several Phobos transits<\/a> since landing at Mars\u2019 Jezero Crater in February 2021. Curiosity captured a video<\/a> in 2019. And Opportunity captured an image<\/a> in 2004.<\/p>\n

By comparing the various images, scientists can refine their understanding of the moon\u2019s orbit to learn how it\u2019s changing. Phobos is getting closer to Mars and is predicted to collide with it in about 50 million years.<\/p>\n

More About Perseverance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets.<\/p>\n

A key objective for Perseverance\u2019s mission on Mars is astrobiology<\/a>, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet\u2019s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).<\/p>\n

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.<\/p>\n

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA\u2019s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes\u00a0Artemis<\/a>\u00a0missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.<\/p>\n

For more about Perseverance:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020<\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contacts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Karen Fox \/ Molly Wasser
<\/ins>NASA Headquarters, Washington
<\/ins>202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

DC Agle
<\/ins>Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
<\/ins>818-393-9011
<\/ins>agle@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

2024-150<\/p>\n

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