Thanks to Curiosity ’s lonely existence , we just got the clearest , most detailed image of a solar eclipse that ’s ever been taken from the control surface of Mars — at least , the clearest images ever taken by humankind .
The moon pictured in the photos above ( which were each read three second aside on August 17 ) is Mars ’ largest moon , Phobos , and was in the midst of completing an annular solar eclipse — annular being the eccentric of occultation that pass when the perceived sizing of the moonlight is significantly small than the sun , even though they ’re perfectly in line . That ’s what yield us that lovely ring of light around Phobos ’ irregular , glob - riddled silhouette . And , according to Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University and carbon monoxide gas - tec of Curiosity’sMastCam , this is the closest anyone on Mars will ever get to a full eclipse . The circinate nature of the eclipse was even a bit of a surprise , as Lemmon observe in the news release :
This one is by far the most detailed prototype of any Martian lunar transit ever taken , and it is particularly utile because it is annular . It was even closer to the sun ’s heart than predicted , so we learned something .
These range are the first full - resolve physical body , and they may even get stitch together to create a film one day . Until then , though , we ’ll just have to settle for being some of the first people ever to get to divvy up this incredible Mars ’ eye scene with our short robot acquaintance . Just attempt not to retrieve of them as oculus — once you do , it ca n’t be unseen ( sorry ) . [ NASAviaRedOrbit.com ]
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