Scientific Information From The Mars Exploration Rover Mission - Astronomical Observations

Astronomical Observations

Opportunity observed the eclipse, or transits of Phobos and transits of Deimos across the Sun, and photographed the Earth, which appeared as a bright celestial object in the Martian sky.

A transit of Mercury from Mars took place on January 12, 2005 from about 14:45 UTC to 23:05 UTC, but camera resolution did not permit seeing Mercury's 6.1" angular diameter.

Transits of Deimos across the Sun were seen, but at 2' angular diameter, Deimos is about 20 times larger than Mercury's 6.1" angular diameter.

Read more about this topic:  Scientific Information From The Mars Exploration Rover Mission

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