Mars is a solid planet of the Earth's group of small diameter (only 7 thousand km), which gives an abundance of iron red. It was named after the ancient Roman god of war. This cosmic body has similarities with the Earth in terms of changing seasons. The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen, hydrogen, neon, oxygen and argon. The main attraction is the extinct volcano Olympus, the width of which is 6 thousand kilometers and the height is almost 27 kilometers. In addition to a weak magnetic field, there is another feature: bacteria exist on Mars, the result of which is the immediately decomposing methane.
These conclusions were made after the detection of clots of this gas of a large area. The temperature on the planet is from +20 to -153 degrees. There is even frozen air and ice. And the day is like Earth, only 50 minutes more. This planet has always been the subject of controversy and discussion. Scientists tried to find out how many satellites Mars has, whether there is life, whether there are bacteria that can be transported there, so that they exist in those conditions, whether there was ever a higher civilization there. In recent centuries there have been a lot of not always explainable discoveries, but there will still be plenty of new curious facts in history.
Do Mars have satellites
This planet has 2 satellites that have become known since 1829. Until this time, many astronomers have wondered how many satellites Mars has. In 1610, Johannes Kepler suggested that there are two of them. According to his theory, the number of such increases exponentially with the removal of the planets from the sun.
Later, the writer Jonathan Swift in one of the chapters of Gulliver's Travels wrote about the presence of two "moons." After it became known how many satellites Mars has, on one of them, on Deimos, a crater was named after Swift. He is not the only person who suggested the existence of such: Voltaire went down in history not only as a talented writer, but also as the "owner" of the eponymous crater on Deimos. By the way, these two recesses are located not far from each other.
What are they named and why
The largest space object orbiting the “red planet" is Phobos. His name, meaning “fear,” is also taken from mythology. This is the son of Mars and Venus, and therefore could not name him otherwise. Its shape is asymmetrical, not at all the same as that of most satellites.
This planetesimal (large pebble) on its surface has only one “attraction” - this is the Stickney crater , which was named after the wife of Asaf Hall, the discoverer of this object. Deimos - the satellite of Mars No. 2 - is much smaller than its "neighbor". In addition to obscure solid furrows, on this shapeless stone there are Swift and Voltaire craters.
What is the trajectory of Phobos and Deimos
They differ in their orbits. Phobos manages to go around the planet 2 times a day, moves closer to it. There is an assumption that he is in danger: perhaps, after several millennia, under the influence of gravity, he will collapse to Mars and break. Scientists tried to find out its mass, but according to calculations it turned out that it is very small. But how is this possible? There was a hypothesis that there is a void inside it. Deimos, on the contrary, may someday "run away" from the planet, because it gradually moves away from it. This is also due to their size: Deimos has a diameter of 13 km, and Phobos is about 10 kilometers larger.
How did they appear
Natural satellites of Mars mainly consist of regolith (fragments of rocks) and ice, the composition of which is not the same as that of the "red star". Their origin still does not have a specific official version. There is a hypothesis that there was one asteroid that crashed into two blocks. They say that Mars pulled them to him from Jupiter. They are younger than the planet itself.
Phobos, in connection with the assumption of a void inside, has gained the legend that he is not at all a natural body. This is a spaceship created by a higher mind. To check this, you need a lot of time, money and effort. It is necessary to examine its soil, depth and exact composition.
Now you know how many satellites Mars has and what they approximately represent.