Deimos (moon)

Deimos (IPA {{IPA|/?da?m?s/}} or {{IPA|/?di?m?s/}}; Greek Δείμος: "Dread"), is the smaller and outermost of Mars' two moons, named after Deimos from Greek Mythology. The adjectival form of the name is, presumably, Deimian.

Trivia

In part 3 chapter 3 (the "Voyage to Laputa") of Jonathan Swift's famous satire Gulliver's Travels, a fictional work written in 1726, the astronomers of Laputa are described as having discovered two satellites of Mars orbiting at distances of 3 and 5 Martian diameters, respectively. The actual orbital distances of Phobos and Deimos are 1.4 and 3.5 Martian diameters, respectively. This is regarded as a fascinating coincidence; no telescope in Swift's day would have been even remotely powerful enough to discover these satellites.

Related Topics:
Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels - 1726

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