Coming Attraction: A Ring of Fear

Phobos is doomed. In 100 million years or so this moon will likely be shattered by stress caused by relentless tidal forces, its debris forming a decaying ring around Mars. Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. Their names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. The larger moon Phobos is a cratered, asteroid-like object in this image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Click to embiggen the image to 7 m per pixel resolution.

Image Credit: NASA

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