American space agency Nasa has recently shared an image of a Mars moon that looks like a potato. The image has been shared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration on its official Instagram account and has received over 1,000,000 likes.
“You say potato, we say Mars Moon. This is an image of Phobos, the largest of Mars’ two raggedy moons, as seen by the @UAHiRISE camera aboard our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Taken from 6,800 kilometres (4,225 miles) above the surface, the image shows a pockmarked celestial body with a large impact basin called Stickney crater,” the image caption read.
NASA said that Phobos was discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall, and one popular theory is that it might be a captured asteroid. In Greek mythology, Phobos and Deimos are the twin sons of Ares.
“The grooves seen along its side could be the result of tidal forces – the mutual gravitational pull of the planet and the moon. Scientists have calculated that tiny Phobos is nearing Mars at a rate of 1.8 meters (6 feet) every century, meaning it will either crash into the planet in 50 million years or break up into a ring of debris,” the caption read.