Thursday, 19 April 2018

Violent impact with dwarf planet could have given rise to Martian moons

Phobos, as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The Martian moons Phobos and Deimos may have been created in the aftermath of a cataclysmic collision between early Mars and an object with a mass somewhere between that of the dwarf planet Ceres, and the asteroid Vesta. The theory will hopefully be put to the test in the not-too-distant future by an ambitious Japanese mission, that will seek to visit both of the small moons with the aim of retrieving a surface sample for return to Earth.

.. Continue Reading Violent impact with dwarf planet could have given rise to Martian moons

Category: Space

Tags: Related Articles:

from New Atlas https://ift.tt/2vscrxL

No comments:

Post a Comment