NASA Shares Stunning 'Space Potato' Image of Phobos

TapTechNews, June 24 - NASA has always been keen on sharing magnificent images of the universe, fascinating space enthusiasts. Recently, NASA posted a photo of a 'pace potato' on Instagram, causing a buzz among netizens.

According to TapTechNews, this photo, taken by the most powerful planet-finding camera ever, shows the view of Phobos, the larger of Mars' two irregularly shaped satellites. NASA wrote when sharing the image: 'Phobos is the larger of Mars' two satellites, but its diameter is only about 16.8x13.7x11.2 miles. Due to Phobos being so small, its gravity is not enough to pull it into a sphere (like Earth's moon), which results in its bumpy shape.'

'In addition, Phobos is in a collisional orbit with Mars. However, this process will be extremely long. It approaches Mars at a rate of 1.8 meters per year. At this rate, this satellite will either collide with Mars or break up into a ring in 50 million years.', NASA added.

This photo was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA wrote in the image description: 'This Martian satellite, Phobos, stands out against the dark space. It has a reddish-brown color, a bumpy surface, and is riddled with craters of various sizes. Next to the Stickney crater (a particularly large crater), a white spot can be seen.'

This image received over 420,000 likes and a large number of comments within just a few days after its release, and netizens expressed their amazement at the photo. 'It looks like it's made of some kind of metal,' one netizen wrote. 'Finally found the space potato!' another netizen commented. 'Beautiful space potato,' one said. 'Can we make space fries out of it?' another netizen playfully wrote.

It's worth noting that according to NASA, Phobos has no atmosphere and orbits Mars three times a day. Mars' other satellite is called Deimos. American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Mars' two satellites in 1877. Hall named the two satellites after the sons of the Roman god of war, Mars, which is the Greek counterpart of Ares. Phobos means 'fear' and is the brother of Deimos. The Stickney crater is named after Hall's wife and mathematician Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall.

According to NASA, the measurement results of the temperature difference between day and night on Phobos show a significant variation. Its highest temperature is 24.8 degrees Fahrenheit and its lowest is -169.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists believe that such a strong heat loss may be caused by the dust covering Phobos' surface that cannot retain heat.