Moon Dance: Curiosity Rover Captures Movie of Phobos and Deimos Together

universetoday.com ^ | August 15, 2013 | Nancy Atkinson on

[BenLurkin]

Sol 351 for the Curiosity rover on Mars was a marvelous night for a moon dance. The Mars Science Laboratory rover caught sight of Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos together in the sky. And not just one image was captured: the rover’s Mast Camera captured a series of 41 images to allow the MSL team to create this timelapse movie of the dance, where the smaller moon Diemos is occulted by Phobos.

To our knowledge, this the first time the two moons have been seen together in any image from the surface of Mars, let alone this sequence of images. The Mars Express spacecraft took images of the moons together in 2009 from orbit.

[BenLurkin]

Hurtling Thuria and stately Cluros

[GeronL]

cool

[cripplecreek]

I’m reading my way through the series again. John Carter is fixin to rescue Deja Thoris from Thuria.

[cripplecreek]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaVSCmuOJwI&feature=youtu.be

[Squawk 8888]

APOD bonus.

[Fester Chugabrew]

this the first time the two moons have been seen together . . .

Not to make less of this marvel, but one could scour 90% of the earth's surface and see things that have never been seen before, starting with the inevitable dust bunny under my sofa.

[left that other site]

fantabulous!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Squawk 8888, good idea, another APoD extra.

[lbryce]

I sent you this link about a week ago. I’ve been sending you
lots of links that are as compelling, worthy of your time and consideration as any you post regularly via the several lists you manage. But most of them go unacknowledged.

[SunkenCiv]

Sorry, I don’t always get to the subsequent pages of my pings.

[lbryce]

Absolutely no problem.

I admire you for the indispensable contribution you make here at Free Republic and am only too happy, enthusiastic to be a small part of the effort.

It is quite understandable taking into consideration the overwhelming effort and dedication put into what you do and want to express my gratitude and appreciation on behalf of myself and all my fellow FReepers in saying;

Thank you, Sunkenciv!!!