Current events 7

            Holes in Martian moon

                       June 2, 2010

                  By Stephen Ornes

The Martian moon Phobos is full of craters, is lumpy and is about 16.8 miles long which makes it 3 miles longer that Manhattan. Scientists showed in a recent study that the moon is unusually light. Planetary scientists discovered that the moon is probably not a solid object which is surmising, they also recorded that as much as 30 percent of the moons inside may be empty space.  

Even though the moon might be empty on the inside it isn’t just an empty shell, Space researchers and scientists could use it as a stop for space shuttles on their way to further moons and planets. But interesting finding probably indicate that Phobos is potentially an asteroid coughed in the gravity field of the planet Mars.

Phobos is the larger of the two moons orbiting Mars and astronomers have a number of ideas about how it came to be and where it came from.  Past studies indicated that Phobos was an asteroid. Other studies suggested that the moon formed from bits of Martian rock that were floating in space after a large asteroid collided with Mars. The most recent studies suggest that the two theories combined are correct. Even with the advanced technology that we posses today we might never find out the truth about Phobos and its origins.