current newsNews – NASA’s Perseverance robot on duty on Mars has managed to record the appearance of a solar eclipse on the Red Planet.
From this recording of the appearance of a solar eclipse on Mars, NASA scientists have learned many things about the Red Planet.
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As reported by Suara.com, the Perseverance robot took a break from its sample search mission on April 2. The robot is on its way to reach the Martian river delta in observing how the Moon crosses the Sun from the Martian sky.
“These observations could help scientists better understand the Moon’s orbit and how its gravity pulls on the Martian surface,” said an official at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the Perseverance mission Space.comMy (25/4/2022).
NASA’s other Mars rover robots, such as Curiosity, are also observing the phenomenon of solar eclipses on the planet.
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However, a new shot from Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z camera provides the most extraordinary view of such an event.
Featuring a high frame rate that has never been used before on the surface of Mars.
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The two moons of Mars are known as Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is about 157 smaller than Earth’s Moon, while Deimos is smaller than Phobos.
Scientists think the two objects may be former asteroids captured by Mars’ gravity.
NASA’s Perseverance Robot Captures Sightings of the Solar Eclipse
The team of experts has been observing solar eclipses on Mars for 20 years and they have improved our understanding of the slowly collapsing orbit of the Moon.
“We also learn more about the structure of Mars from such observations”Said the JPL official.
As Phobos orbits Mars, its gravity exerts a small tidal force on the Red Planet’s interior, slightly changing the shape of the rocks in the planet’s crust and mantle.
“This force also slowly changes the orbit of Phobos,” he added.
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Therefore, geophysicists can use these changes to better understand how flexible the Martian interior is and reveal more about the material in the crust and mantle.
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Past rover missions have recorded Phobos and/or Deimos passing in front of the Sun.
Curiosity’s enhanced capabilities allow explorers to record video of solar eclipses and now observations of eclipses on the Red Planet number in the tens.
As of 2019, the rover Curiosity, Opportunity, and Spirit have collectively observed 40 eclipses by Phobos and eight solar transits by Deimos.
On the other hand, Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z has further improvements over its predecessor’s cruiser camera system.
The camera has a filter like sunglasses that reduce the intensity of sunlight.
This allowed scientists to see a bulge in the outline of Phobos as well as a cluster of sunspots.
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That’s the latest report from NASA’s Perseverance rover, which has successfully recorded the appearance of a solar eclipse on Mars.
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