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Phobos (Natural Colors; credits: NASA)
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HiRISE acquired 2 dramatic views of the Martian moon, Phobos, on 23 March 2008. Observation PSP_007769_9010, acquired at a distance of 6800 Km from Phobos, provides surface detail at 6,8 mt/pixel scale and a object diameter of about 3200 pixels.
The second observation, PSP_007769_9015, providing a closer look at 5800 Km, views the surface at slightly more detail (5,8 mt/pixel with an object diameter of about 4000 pixels).
The 2 images were taken within 10' of each other and show roughly the same features, but from a different angle so that they can be combined to yield a stereo view.
The illuminated part of Phobos visible in the images is about 21 Km across. Images from previous spacecraft have been of smaller pixel scale (for example, Mars Global Surveyor got data at 4 mt/pixel, because this spacecraft came closer to Phobos), but the HiRISE images have greater signal-to-noise, making the new data some of the best ever for Phobos.
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