Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 January 25 [2]A large irregularly shaped object is shown that is mostly brown and shows many craters. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]LPL (U. Arizona), [5]MRO, [6]HiRISE Explanation: This moon is doomed. [7]Mars, the red planet named for the [8]Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, [9]Phobos and [10]Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and [11]Panic. These [12]Martian moons may well be captured [13]asteroids originating in the main [14]asteroid belt between Mars and [15]Jupiter or perhaps from even more distant reaches of [16]our Solar System. The larger moon, [17]Phobos, is indeed seen to be a cratered, asteroid-like object in this [18]stunning color image from the robotic [19]Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which can image objects as small as 10 meters. But [20]Phobos orbits so close to Mars - about 5,800 kilometers above the surface compared to 400,000 kilometers for [21]our Moon - that gravitational [22]tidal forces are dragging it down. In perhaps 50 million years, [23]Phobos is expected to disintegrate into a ring of debris. Tomorrow's picture: bubbling galaxy __________________________________________________________________ [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search | [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss | [34]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell ([38]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply. [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices; A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC, [46]NASA Science Activation & [47]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2601/Phobos_MRO_3374.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/ 5. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/ 6. https://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ 7. https://science.nasa.gov/mars/ 8. https://mythopedia.com/topics/mars 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobos_(moon) 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deimos_(moon) 11. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yzPdCk_Kc30/UcsbcNxTCKI/AAAAAAAAB-I/9bTfzfm9KKw/s1600/scared_cat_is_really_scared-e1349731123898.jpg 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031024.html 13. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/ 14. https://asteroidday.org/ 15. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/ 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220629.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201108.html 18. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10368 19. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/ 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220509.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020504.html 22. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/tides/ 23. https://youtu.be/BJHRyjkmxss?t=122 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260124.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 30. https://apod.com/feed.rss 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260125 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260126.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 47. http://www.mtu.edu/