Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, named after the Greek gods of fear and terror, respectively.
Phobos, the larger of the two, has a diameter of just about 22 kilometers, while Deimos is even smaller, with a diameter of around 12 kilometers.
Despite their diminutive size, these moons are capable of producing solar eclipses on Mars, albeit different from the ones we see on Earth.
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Phobos, due to its proximity to Mars, is the main contributor to solar eclipses on the Red Planet.
It orbits Mars at a distance of only about 6,000 kilometers, which is significantly closer than our Moon’s average distance of 384,400 kilometers from Earth.
This close orbit means that Phobos travels quickly across the Martian sky, taking only about 7.6 hours to complete a full orbit.
As a result, Phobos frequently passes between Mars and the Sun, creating partial solar eclipses that can be observed from the Martian surface.
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