Solar eclipses on Mars around Mars, the shadow of Phobos was seen in pictures transmitted to Earth. One of these photos was from the NASA rover "Opportunity". Solar eclipses on Mars The two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are much smaller than the Moon, greatly reducing the frequency of solar eclipses on that planet. Neither moon's apparent diameter is large enough to cover the disk of the sun, and therefore they are annular solar eclipses and can also be considered transits. Due to the small size of Phobos (about ) and its rapid orbital motion, an observer on the surface of Mars would
Mars hoax about twice as far away for the same apparent size. It has nine times the mass of the Moon, and would have about the same tidal effect (nine times the larger mass divided by relative distance cubed). The hoax has resurfaced a number of times since 2003, often showing an altered image of twin moons over the Nilov Monastery, and may continue to do so, always announcing an imminent close Earth–Mars approach. The content of the original email, although almost entirely correct for August 27, 2003, has falsely been redated to announce a new close Earth–Mars approach—the real close approach