- Original Caption Released with Image:
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Deimos
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Phobos
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This panel combines the first photographs of solar eclipses by Mars' two
moons. The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
captured the images as the first in a planned series of eclipse
observations by Opportunity and Spirit.
The Deimos image was taken at 03:04 Universal Time on March 4, 2004.
This irregularly shaped moon is only 15 kilometers (9 miles) across in
its longest dimension. It appears as just a speck in front of the disc
of the Sun. The Phobos image was taken as that moon grazed the edge of
the solar disc at 02:46 Universal Time on March 7, 2004. Phobos is 27
kilometers (17 miles) in its longest dimension. Its apparent size
relative to Deimos is even greater because it orbits much closer to
Mars' surface than Deimos does.
- Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/Cornell
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