Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
The Two Moons of Mars As Seen from "Husband Hill
Original Caption Released with Image:
Taking advantage of extra solar energy collected during the day, NASA's Mars Exloration Rover Spirit settled in for an evening of stargazing, photographing the two moons of Mars as they crossed the night sky. Spirit took this succession of images at 150-second intervals from a perch atop "Husband Hill" in Gusev Crater on martian day, or sol, 594 (Sept. 4, 2005), as the faster-moving martian moon Phobos was passing Deimos in the night sky. Phobos is the brighter object on the left and Deimos is the dimmer object on the right. The bright star Aldebaran and some other stars in the constellation Taurus are visible as star trails. Most of the other streaks in the image are the result of cosmic rays lighting up random groups of pixels in the camera.

Scientists will use images of the two moons to better map their orbital positions, learn more about their composition, and monitor the presence of nighttime clouds or haze. Spirit took the five images that make up this c omposite with its panoramic camera using the camera's broadband filter, which was designed specifically for acquiring images under low-light conditions.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell/Tex as A&M
Produced By:
Cornell University
Mission:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Spacecraft:
Spirit
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Panoramic Camera
Product Size:
1024 samples x 1024 lines
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Crater
facet_what:
Moon
facet_what:
Spirit
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Taurus
facet_what:
Panoramic Camera
facet_what:
ALDEBARAN
facet_what:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Texas
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Image #:
PIA06338
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA06338
orignial url:

The Two Moons of Mars As Seen from "Husband Hill