Perseverance rover filmed a solar eclipse on Mars (VIDEO)

The Perseverance rover filmed a solar eclipse in which the moon Phobos passed in front of the Sun, creating the optical effect of a "closed eye" in which the moon was like a pupil. This happens almost every day on Mars, as Phobos orbits Mars every 7,6 hours, although each transit lasts only about 30 seconds. NASA shared the video on the mission page.

How did you get the image?

Thanks to its close location to the planet and its orbit aligned with the equator of Mars, Perseverance's Mastcam-Z camera managed to record in detail the passage of Phobos across the solar disk. The video shows how Phobos, which has an unusual "potato-like" shape, moves across the Sun's disk, like a dark pupil covering part of it. To make it easier to watch, NASA created a video speeding up the event four times. The study of such transits allows scientists to deepen their knowledge about the dynamics of satellite orbits, their influence on the atmosphere and other planetary phenomena, which may be useful for future manned missions to Mars.