Martian Astronomy: Percy Sees a ‘Phobos Eclipse’ From Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover recently captured images of the Martian moon Phobos transiting the Sun. Scientists use these routine observations to conduct 'Martian astronomy' and monitor the planet's celestial environment.
Why it matters
These observations provide valuable data for planetary science and demonstrate the ongoing operational capabilities of Mars rovers.
What’s so special about spotting Phobos crossing in front of the Sun?
Sure. It’s just another image of Phobos, crossing the disk of the Sun, as seen from the surface of Mars. Like so much of the modern space era, these images, once amazing, are now almost routine. But there’s some real science behind tasking the Mars rovers to conduct a little ‘Martian astronomy.’
Opportunity was the first rover to directly spy a Mars moon transiting the Sun, way back in 2004. Viking 1 also caught the shadow of Phobos skimming its Chryse Planitia landing site in 1977. Both Curiosity and Perseverance have since made the effort to ‘look up’ and monitor the celestial scene on occasion. The latest image was captured courtesy of Percy’s main Mastcam-Z camera, and was taken on Mars Sol 1948 for the mission earlier this month on August 12th, 2026.
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