Scientists Closing in on Origin of Jupiter's Moon, Phobos

Jupiter's two small moons are named Phobos and Deimos, named for the Greek god fear, Phobos, and a Greek Mythological figure representing dread, respectively.

Now, European scientists are hoping to track back to Phobos’ origin, the larger of the pair. Thanks to a series of visits by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft, scientists have deduced that Phobos is really nothing more than a ‘rubble pile.’

And though this is in and of itself an important discovery, where that rubble came from is another matter entirely.

As such, various scientists are attempting to calculate the density of Phobos, a move that will eventually lead to how the moon was formed. During one of the Mars Express fly-bys, the Mars Express Radio Science (MaRS) Experiment team led by Martin Pätzold recorded the changes in frequency made as the Mars Express encountered Phobos’ gravity.

High resolution photos were also taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). These images are being analyzed by a team led by Gerhard Neukum, Freie Universität Berlin, along with scientists from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), who will build a better 3D-model that scientists will be able to use to determine Phobos’ volume.

Both Phobos and Deimos are very similar to a D-class asteroid in that they are collections of rubble and various materials, held together by gravity. But unlike asteroids, which would have been thrown into random orbits around a planet, Phobos orbits Mars’ equator, a specific case that scientists are yet to wrap their minds around.

One possible explanation for Phobos is that some time ago, an asteroid impacted Mars, and threw up a mass of rubble. Some of the rubble would have escaped, but some might have been caught in Mars’ gravity and eventually drawn together.

But the question still remains just where the material came from. Did it come from Mars’ surface or the nearby asteroid belt that hovers between Mars and Jupiter?

Nothing will be made certain though, until samples of Phobos are brought back to Earth for analysis. However this is not as far away as could be expected, if the Russians and their Phobis-Grunt mission, to be launched next year, are successful. Destined to land on Phobos, study the surface, and return a soil sample to Earth, the new high resolution images of Phobos are going to be invaluable.

Posted by Josh Hill.

http://www.physorg.com/news143386504.html

Comments

[Old Grizzly]

Ahem... Jupiter's moon?!?

[Keith Chrystie]

Oh dear. Jupiter's moons? That's terrible.

[Slumpig]

What a shame they couldn't get this right.

[Nephish777]

This is amazing! The moon moved to another planet!

[Swamiji]

Er,,, We are talking about Mars, Yes? Where did the confusion with Jupiter come from?

[Swamiji]

Er,,, We are talking about Mars, Yes? Where did the confusion with Jupiter come from?

[Swamiji]

Er,,, We are talking about Mars, Yes? Where did the confusion with Jupiter come from?

[Eric]

If we can't trust you schmucks to get something as elementary as this right......how can we trust ANY of your information? This jumps out and smacks you in the face, you dummies!

[daniel]

at last my theory of planetary teleportation is proved... a nobel in this for sure

[Booker]

That is the beauty of distributed processing, linked data-sharing systems, and desk-top publishing. A mistake can indeed be propagated more efficiently here in the 21st Century!

[wayno]

I thought this was a reputable science website? How pathetic.

[ganeshbrhills]

Josh! You need a break!

[Eddie French]

It's all been said....
What the hell... Mars you dummies!
Ahh, that feels better.

[flflake]

I too thought this is a reputable science wesite... ?!?
8:(

[Velocity Wave]

Ouch! Aside from Earth, there are only 5 other "planets" in the solar system that have moons.

For us science and astronomy fans, who have been fascinated all our lives, it's not that difficult to keep track of 5 planets!

This is why the mistake in this article is really glaring to us. You have no idea just how bad this mistake is!

It's like standing up at a conference of geography experts, and saying "Mexico is the capital city of the USA!"

This was a really bad mistake, that's going to turn off quite a few readers...

[Question Authority]

OK, who was using the Infinite Improbability Drive again?!

[mikeyguy]

Call the editor! please. this is worse than pluto being expelled as a planet.
Oh wait its just a Typo

[Norm Bourne]

How disappointing !!!!!!

[Andy]

Jupiter. Get real !!! What did you idiots do? Move them over to Jupiter and send its 67 other moons packing further out ???? SHeesh !!!!

[Peter]

Caught my attention too but as the content shows it was obviously just a typo preparing the heading. No need for some of the strong abuse. We should be thanking these guys for the great job they usually do.

[PeterM]

Get all your news about global warming, peak oil, and Jupiter's moons right here.

[EvilCosmicMonkey from Knoxville]

Ah ! I get it ! Phobos decided to move to a locale where it wouldn't crash into its parent planet in a century or so !! How cool is that ?

Seriously, that's a small, elemental, error, but so ridiculously glaring that it looks pathetic. I expected better of Daily Galaxy. Google " Fact - checking ".

[Mark]

Hmmm, come on guys...own up...who hit the Sangria before writing this up...my head is bowed and shaking slowly from side to side. I have to agree with one of the comments made already...this throws an incredible amount of uncertainty on the veracity of other information and you need to know many of us depend on this for many different reasons. A useful phrase...proof reading.

[Hani]

Aww what a terrible mistake, you'd think they'd at least get this right. Phobos and Deimos are the names of Mars's moons, they are the only two moons which orbit Mars and they have irregular shapes.