NASA footage from various Mars exploration missions highlights the strangeness and weirdness of solar eclipses on the red planet. They are nothing like what we have seen on Earth.
We all know about eclipses, and many of us have experienced them here on Earth as well. This phenomenon occurs when the Moon comes in front of the Sun and casts its shadow on the Earth. We’ve all seen the day turn to darkness during a solar eclipse. However, eclipses are not at all like on Mars. Over the years, NASA has captured various footage of lunar eclipses on Mars, and these videos are not only eerie and bizarre, but also feel surreal. So, how are they different and more importantly, why are they different? Read to find out.
Solar eclipse on Mars is a strange phenomenon
Mars has two moons called Phobos (Greek for fear) and Deimos (Greek for fear). These two moons orbit Mars at high speed and complete one revolution in 7.65 and 30.35 hours, respectively. This is much faster than our Moon, which takes about 27 days to orbit the Earth. Because of this rapid rate, eclipses are much more frequent than on Earth. But that’s not all.
Both of Mars’ moons are also very small compared to ours. While the Earth’s Moon has a radius of 1,737.4 km, Phobos has a radius of 11.2 km and Deimos has a radius of 6.2 km. Due to their small size, they never cover the entire Sun and cast a small shadow on the surface of Mars.
As a result, it looks like a large dark circle moving across the Martian landscape, making the entire eclipse look eerie, even spooky. Watch a video captured by the NASA Perseverance rover here.
This also makes you realize how lucky we are. Eclipses on Earth all cover and create a vivid image of the Sun being engulfed by the Moon. But it is a great coincidence that this is possible. It happens because the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun but it is also 400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun. But all this could change in a few thousand years as the Moon moves away from the Sun at a rate of 3.82 centimeters per year.
