Jakarta –
When NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars in February 2021, it brings a high-definition video camera, complete with powerful zoom capabilities. Thanks to this camera, we are treated to a variety of amazing views of the Red Planet over the last 14 months, including solar eclipses.
Earlier this month operator Perseverance pointed its Mastcam-Z camera at the sky to capture Phobos, Mars’ potato-shaped moon, transiting the Sun’s surface. The result is a spectacular 40-second video.
Phobos is much smaller than Earth’s Moon, measuring only about 20 km, so it doesn’t darken Mars during an eclipse. However, with the moon scraping against the Sun, the video reveals the uneven nature of Phobos’ terrain, complete with mountains and small hills. The scene during this event also shows sunspots on the surface of our star.
NASA has been capturing views of planet-bound Phobos, and Mars’ even smaller moon, Deimos, since the Spirit and Opportunity rover landings in 2004. Curiosity captured this transit of Phobos in 2019.
“I knew the sight was going to be great, but I didn’t expect this eclipse to be so great,” said Rachel Howson of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, a member of the Mastcam-Z team that operates the camera.
Curious about what the eclipse looks like on Mars, you can see in the video below.
(rns/afr)
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