Phobos (moon)

Phobos (IPA {{IPA|/?fo?b?s/}}, Greek Φόβος: "Fright"), is the larger and innermost of Mars' two moons, and is named after Phobos, son of Ares (Mars) from Greek Mythology. Phobos orbits closer to a major planet than any other moon in the solar system, less than 6000 km above the surface of Mars, and is also one of the smallest known moons in the solar system. Its systematic designation is Mars I. The adjectival form of the name is Phobian, and in fairly common usage.

Jonathan Swift's 'prediction'

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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