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NASA’s Perseverance Rover has captured video of how the moon Phobos crosses the sky eclipsing the Sun.
It has been more than a year since the Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars, and even today it continues to offer us breathtaking images of the Red Planet. The vehicle is equipped with a high-definition video camera with incredible magnification capabilities. That zoom has shown us the far side of Mars, with images of its incredible surface and rugged terrain.
What is seen in the images is Phobos, one of the moons of Mars, partially covering the Sun
The new sighting of the Rover leaves no one indifferent, since it has managed to capture a solar eclipse seen from the surface of Mars. The Mastcam-Z camera that the rover has equipped has managed to capture the phenomenon and has made history by recording the solar eclipse with greater luxury of detail that we have been able to see on Mars. NASA has recently shared the video on its communication channels and social networks, astonishing everyone who has stopped to see it.
What we can see crossing the plane and eclipsing the sun is Phobos, one of the two moons of Mars. This satellite is much smaller than the Moon, and that is why it does not hide the sun, plunging Mars into darkness. This star that orbits around Mars barely reaches 20km in diameter, we could travel it on foot in less than a day if the atmospheric characteristics allowed us to.
The new camera that equips the Perseverance rover leaves us with more spectacular images than ever
As we have already mentioned, It is not the first time that we witness a solar eclipse on Mars starring Phobos. In 2013, NASA’s Curiosity rover was able to capture images of another eclipse where the moon stands between the path of Mars and the Sun. The images back then were not of much quality, but now the same phenomenon is seen in a better way. spectacular thanks to the technological advances of Perseverance.
“I knew the footage would be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this amazing”
Those were the words of Rachel Howson, one of the scientists in charge of managing the data collected by the Mastcam-Z. From their research center in California, Howson’s team were the first to marvel at the solar eclipse images that Perseverance had broadcast.
Related topics: Science
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