Moons · Moon of Mars
Deimos
23,460 km from Mars · Light crosses it in 41 millionths of a second
- Across
- 12 km
- Vs Earth
- 1/1,000 of Earth
- Mass
- 1.5 × 10¹⁵ kg
About
Deimos is the smaller and outer of the two moons of Mars, a lumpy, dusty body barely 12 km across. It is probably a captured asteroid or debris from an ancient impact on Mars.
So small and far out that from Mars it looks like a bright star.
At a glance
| Size | About 15 × 12 × 11 km |
|---|---|
| Orbits | Mars, every 30.3 hours |
| Discovered | 1877, Asaph Hall |
| Name | Greek for dread |
Did you know
- Its gravity is so weak that a good jump could launch you into space.
- Seen from Mars it looks like a bright star, not a moon.
- Its surface is smoothed by a thick layer of fine dust.
Real photo
- Deimos in high resolution, by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter — NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona · source