Mars Odyssey Observes Martian Moons

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/SSI


Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, are seen in this movie put together from 19 images taken by the Mars Odyssey orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, camera. The images were taken in visible-wavelength light. THEMIS also recorded thermal-infrared imagery in the same scan.

The apparent motion is due to progression of the camera's pointing during the 17-second span of the February 15, 2018, observation, not from motion of the two moons. This was the second observation of Phobos by Mars Odyssey; the first was on September 29, 2017. Researchers have been using THEMIS to examine Mars since early 2002, but the maneuver turning the orbiter around to point the camera at Phobos was developed only recently.

The distance to Phobos from Odyssey during the observation was about 3,489 miles (5,615 kilometers). The distance to Deimos from Odyssey during the observation was about 12,222 miles (19,670 kilometers).

Source / Image Courtesy

 

NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter observed Phobos, the moon of Mars, using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera, on 29 September 2017.

The scale bar correlates color-coding to the temperature range on the Kelvin scale, from 130 K (minus 226 degrees Fahrenheit) for dark purple to 270 K (26 degrees F) for red.

The distance to Phobos from Odyssey during the observation was about 5511 kilometers (3,424 miles).