Produced by: Tarun Mishra
NASA's Perseverance rover recently captured a solar eclipse on Mars, providing stunning footage of Phobos, Mars’ moon, crossing in front of the Sun. The event, which took place on September 30, created a unique "googly eye" effect, with Phobos appearing as the pupil against the glowing Sun.
The eclipse occurred on the 1,285th Martian day of Perseverance’s mission, with the rover stationed at the western edge of Mars' Jezero Crater. The footage was captured using the rover’s Mastcam-Z camera system, which recorded the brief event as Phobos transited the Sun’s disk.
Unlike Earth, where solar eclipses are rare, Mars experiences frequent transits due to Phobos’ rapid orbit. Phobos completes one orbit around Mars every 7.6 hours, leading to daily opportunities for eclipses. This makes solar eclipses on Mars a common occurrence.
Phobos is only 17 miles (27 kilometres) wide, significantly smaller than Earth’s moon. Due to its size and speed, Phobos' transits last around 30 seconds. The captured video shows the eclipse in real time as well as in a sped-up version, allowing scientists to observe the moon’s swift motion.
As Phobos passed in front of the Sun, its shadow (antumbra) moved rapidly across the Martian surface. NASA officials noted that the shadow’s motion was simultaneous with the moon’s crossing of the Sun, providing valuable data on both the moon’s orbit and its impact on Mars.
In addition to Perseverance, NASA’s Curiosity and Opportunity rovers have also observed solar eclipses caused by Phobos. These events have been captured over the last two decades, helping scientists study Phobos’ orbit and its effects on Mars.
Scientists have noted that Phobos is gradually getting closer to Mars, moving about 6 feet (1.8 meters) every 100 years. This change in its orbit means that Phobos is expected to crash into Mars in about 50 million years, according to NASA’s calculations.
The study of Phobos' solar eclipses provides crucial information about the moon, helping scientists understand its orbital dynamics and the eventual fate of the moon as it slowly spirals toward Mars.