Skip to main content

Astronomy (thesaurus)

Search from vocabulary

Concept information

Preferred term

Phobos  

Definition

  • Phobos (systematic designation : Mars I) is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. Phobos is named after the Greek deity Phobos, a son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos. Phobos is a small, irregularly shaped object with a mean radius of 11 km (7 mi). Phobos orbits 6,000 km (3,700 mi) from the Martian surface, closer to its primary body than any other known planetary moon. It is so close that it orbits Mars much faster than Mars rotates, and completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes. As a result, from the surface of Mars it appears to rise in the west, move across the sky in 4 hours and 15 minutes or less, and set in the east, twice each Martian day. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobos_(moon))

Broader concept

Entry terms

  • Mars I

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-V9MLQ1VH-P

Download this concept: