# @nasa on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DIjbVirv6PV
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/29507951-nasa-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/b61a740f93.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-04-17T15:58:16.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA (@NASA) — https://gondola.cc/NASA

## Caption

That’s one speedy spud 🥔⁣
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NASAHubble took 13 separate exposures over 22 minutes to create this time-lapse image of tiny, potato-shaped moon Phobos (at left) orbiting around Mars. Phobos is so small that it looks like a star in these Hubble photos.⁣
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This little tater is fast, though: Phobos orbits Mars in just 7 hours and 39 minutes, which is faster than Mars rotates. The moon’s orbit is very slowly shrinking, meaning it will eventually – as in, 50 million years from now – break up under Mars’ gravitational pull, or crash onto the planet.⁣
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Poor little Phobos has already been battered: it was nearly shattered by a giant impact, and has gouges from thousands of meteorite impacts.⁣
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Here are a few more fun facts about Phobos:⁣
- It has no atmosphere.⁣
- It’s the larger of Mars’ two moons. The other moon is called Deimos.⁣
- The fine dust on Phobos’ surface cannot retain heat.⁣
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Image description: Tiny moon Phobos travels behind Mars in this image. The moon appears multiple times, since this is a time-lapse photo. Phobos is a small silvery dot here. Mars dominates the photos. Mars is mostly red-orange, with dark blotches and silvery wisps all around its edges.⁣
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Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI)⁣
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#NASA #Mars #Moon #Phobos #Astronomy #Potato

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## Tags

nasa, moon, mars, potato, phobos, astronomy

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