Mars Moons Doomed

By Guest Column Joshua Hill —— Bio and Archives April 16, 2008

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One of the greatest sites on the internet today is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. Each day a new astronomical picture is featured, boggling the mind with the stunning beauty and scope of the universe. The photo for the 14th of April was of one of Mars’ moons, Phobos.

Named for the Greek god of fear and horror, Phobos is one of two moons that orbits Mars. So pock-marked with craters are the pair that it is almost certain that they were once caught up in an asteroid belt; possibly located between Mars and Jupiter, or even from one of the outer systems asteroid belts. Phobos orbits so close to Mars however, that it is essentially doomed. It currently orbits about 5,800 kilometers above the surface of Mars (this compared to 400,000 kilometers that our Moon is from Earth). Subsequently, Mars’ gravitational forces are slowly pulling the moon closer and closer in. It is predicted that in 100 million years or so, Phobos will likely shatter due to stresses caused by the relentless tidal forces being exerted upon it by its mother planet. The debris of the moon will form a decaying ring around Mars. Make sure you head along to NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day each day; you won’t regret it. Joshua Hill, a Geek’s-Geek from Melbourne, Australia, Josh is an aspiring author with dreams of publishing his epic fantasy, currently in the works, sometime in the next 5 years. A techie, nerd, sci-fi nut and bookworm.