The Moons of Mars Explained -- Phobos & Deimos MM#2

The moons of Mars explained. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. They are really tiny. How tiny? Compared to Mars or our own moon, pretty tiny. Although, tiny is a matter of opinion. Their surface area is up close to some of the smallest states on Earth, like Luxembourg and Malta. Although Phobos and Deimos are in no way lightweight, In reality their gravitational pull isn't even strong enough to bring them into spherical form. So they look more like huge potatoes than moons. The most popular theory of their origin is that they were once part of the asteroid belt until Jupiter's massive gravity kicked them out of it. So Mars could catch them. Phobos orbits Mars at a average distance of 9,400 kilometers, once every 7 and a half hours. It's on a collision course, and gets 2 meters closer to Mars every year. In 50 to 100 million years, it will be either ripped to pieces by Mars' gravity, and be transformed into a beautiful ring, or it will crash into Mars. The energy released in this collision would kill everything on the small planet. So, if there are humans on Mars by then, they should build very strong bunkers. Smaller Deimos, on the other hand, is slowly escaping Mars. Eventually, it will fly off into space and leave a lonely red planet behind. So, in a few hundred million years, Mars will be moonless and on it's own. Unless, it manages to catch itself another asteroid. English subtitles by Dan9er

Channel: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Views: 3,017,158

Rating: 4.9611697 out of 5

Keywords: Moons Of Mars, Mars, Moon, Phobos, Deimos, the moon, to the moon, space, earth, moons, universe, solar system, astronomy, jupiter, pluto, life on mars, galaxy, the sun, Spacecraft, size, funny, esa, nasa, mount everest, science, education, kurzgesagt, Milky Way (Galaxy)

Id: Pw0IZg7_4mo

Length: 1min 54sec (114 seconds)

Published: Mon May 12 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/drunkadvice]

Cute video. Either I've been pronouncing Demios wrong in my head for 20 years, or I don't pronounce it with a British accent. I can't tell.

[u/Shiftgood]

Kicked out by Jupiter's gravity?