ESA Releases Amazing 3D Image of Phobos

Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) have just released a new, 3D image of the Martian moon Phobos, revealing its structure and surface in exquisite detail. Anyone with a pair of 3D glasses can enjoy the full effect of the image.

The data in the image were collected using the ESA Mars Express orbiter, which snapped a series of photos of Phobos during a recent flyby. The maneuver took the spacecraft within just 100 kilometers (~60 miles) of the moon's surface.

“In this image, a bite-sized chunk appears to be missing from the right edge of the irregular shaped moon – this is a side-on view of the rim of large impact crater Stickney, so-called after the maiden name of the discoverer’s wife,” ESA says in a press release.

One of the most interesting facts about Phobos is that it's the closest-orbiting moon in the entire solar system. It spins around Mars at an altitude of just 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles).

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Via: ESA Releases Amazing 3D Image of Phobos