Phobos and Deimos, Mars' moons, are suspected to be captured asteroids, as their sizes and irregular shapes resemble those of asteroids rather than traditional moons.
Recent simulations suggest that a large asteroid was captured by Mars and torn apart, forming a debris cloud that eventually clumped together to create the moons.
The circular and aligned orbits of Mars' moons challenge the idea they are captured asteroids, raising suspicion that their origins may be more complex than previously thought.
Dr. O'Donoghue, a planetary astronomer, finds the evidence around the moons' origins compelling and agrees with the hypothesis presented by new research.
Collection
[
|
...
]