Phobos!

NASA's Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter (MRO) has an instrument on board called the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). It's main objective is to produce high resolution images of the Martian surface, but recently the MRO team aimed it at one of Mars two little moons: Phobos. The false color image at right is one of the results; for more see the HiRISE web site.

I remember as a wee lad reading science fiction books that speculated about the nature of the two tiny, strange moons of Mars. The actual nature of the moons was unknown – the instruments of science couldn't see that far in those days. Some authors speculated that they were actually spaceships from some alien civilization; others speculated that they were the current home of Martians who escaped from whatever disaster had befallen their now-dry planet. All of these notions were then at least nominally plausible, as science could not naysay them. Today we have a closeup portrait of the moons, and I'm sure we'll get even better ones in the future...

NASA also released an anaglyph (a stereo “3D” view) that's worth checking out if you own a pair of red/blue viewing spectacles. The anaglyph was made by combining two photos take a few seconds apart, during which time the MRO spacecraft moved enough to provide a slightly different perspective. I had a little trouble fusing the right side of the anaglyph, where the stereo separation was most dramatic – but it was worth some patience with my eyeballs, as the depth effects are stunning...