Phobos (moon) break up when it reaches approximately 2.1 Mars radii. When Phobos is eventually torn apart by tidal forces, a fraction of the debris will likely form a planetary ring around Mars, which may last from one million to one hundred million years. The origin of the Martian moons is still controversial. Phobos and Deimos both have much in common with carbonaceous C-type asteroids, with spectra, albedo, and density very similar to those of C- or D-type asteroids. Based on their similarity, one hypothesis is that both moons may be captured main-belt asteroids. Both moons have very circular orbits which lie
The Secret of the Ninth Planet The Secret of the Ninth Planet The Secret of the Ninth Planet is a science-fiction novel written by Donald A. Wollheim and first published in the United States in 1959 by the John C. Winston Co. Wollheim takes his heroes on a grand tour of the solar system as that team struggles to prevent an alien force from blowing up the sun. This is the last of three juvenile novels that Wollheim wrote for Winston, the other two being "The Secret of Saturn's Rings" and "The Secret of the Martian Moons". This is one of the thirty-five juvenile novels that