This time-lapse animation of Hubble images shows Mars rotating over 43 minutes. The video begins with the moon Deimos traveling from right to left as it orbits Mars. Then Phobos makes an appearance from the right before disappearing behind the Red Planet’s shadow. The swift-moving moons’ orbital periods are 30.3 hours and 7.6 hours, respectively. Though Mars has been known since antiquity, the moons were telescopically discovered during the Mars opposition of 1877. This video includes a timeline showing elapsed time through the animation.

NASA, ESA, and J. DePasquale (STScI)

Publication: July 26, 2018