ASTRONOMY PICTURE

OF THE DAY

NOVEMBER 20, 2004

Stereo Phobos

EXPLANATION

Get out your red/blue glasses and float next to Phobos, grooved moon of Mars! Also featured in yesterday’s episode, the image data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera was recorded at a distance of about 200 kilometers. This tantalizing stereo anaglyph view shows the Mars-facing side of the asteroid-like moon’s cratered and grooved surface. Up to hundreds of meters wide, the mysterious grooves may be fractures related to the impact which created 10 kilometer wide Stickney crater, the large crater at the left.

Credit

G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA