August 18th holds a significant place in history, marking the discovery of Phobos, the birth of India’s Finance Minister, and the inauguration of IIT Kharagpur, among other noteworthy events. This article delves into these events, highlighting their impact on the world.
Based on previously unpublished photos, a new study suggests that Mars’ moon Phobos may actually be a comet, or at least part of one, that was gravitationally captured by the Red Planet long ago. While some have theorized that the moons are former asteroids lured in by Mars’ gravity, others have suggested that a giant impact, like that which created our moon, gouged the duo out of the Red Planet. However, neither hypothesis has been able to fully explain the moon’s unique characteristics. The new study, which analyzed high-resolution images of Phobos taken by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter, found that the moon’s surface is porous, like sand, and exhibits an opposition surge, which is characteristic of many airless objects, including comets. The researchers concluded that Phobos’s photometric properties matched Comet 67P’s almost perfectly, suggesting that Phobos was possibly a comet captured by Mars. The study’s findings have implications for Deimos, too, as the team suggests the two moons may have once been joined together as a single bilobed comet that was trapped and eventually torn apart by Mars’ gravity.
