Working models for the gravitational field of Phobos
Monday, March 5, 2012 - 04:00
in Astronomy & Space
Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Despite decades of Martian exploration, we still know very little about Phobos. Many fundamental properties of this small potato-shaped body stay vague, for example, its gravitational field. SHI Xian and coauthors from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and Technical University Berlin recently updated working models for the gravitational field of Phobos. Their work, entitled "Working models for the gravitational field of Phobos", was published in SCIENCE CHINA Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy, 2012, Vol 55(2).