Phobos (pronounced /ˈfoʊbəs/ FOE-bəs, or as Greek Φόβος) (systematic designation: Mars I) is the larger and closer of two small moons of Mars, the other being Deimos. It is named after the Greek god Phobos (which means "fear"), a son of Ares (Mars). A small, irregularly shaped object, Phobos orbits about 9377 km (5827 mi) from the center of Mars, closer to its primary than any other known planetary moon.
Phobos was discovered by astronomer Asaph ...
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Phobos (pronounced /ˈfoʊbəs/ FOE-bəs, or as Greek Φόβος) (systematic designation: Mars I) is the larger and closer of two small moons of Mars, the other being Deimos. It is named after the Greek god Phobos (which means "fear"), a son of Ares (Mars). A small, irregularly shaped object, Phobos orbits about 9377 km (5827 mi) from the center of Mars, closer to its primary than any other known planetary moon.
Phobos was discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall, Sr., on August 18, 1877, at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., at about 09:14 Greenwich Mean Time (contemporary sources, using the pre-1925 astronomical convention that began the day at noon, give the time of discovery as August 17 16:06 Washington mean time). Hall also discovered Deimos, Mars' other moon.
The names, originally spelled Phobus and Deimus respectively, were suggested by Henry Madan (1838–1901), Science Master of Eton, from Book XV of the Iliad, where Ares summons Dread (Deimos) and Fear (Phobos)....
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