Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons, is a fascinating place. The moon, discovered back in 1877, is small — only about 17 miles long — and orbits incredibly close to the surface of its host planet. Phobos, in fact, is so close to Mars that it moves around the planet faster than the planet itself rotates. If you were standing on the surface of Mars, you would see Phobos rise in the west and move across the sky in only a little more than four hours before disappearing to the east. And it’s speeding up. As the orbital radius decreases, Phobos moves closer to the planet’s surface and will one day either smash into Mars or break up into a planetary ring. “[Its] origins are still something of a mystery, and the surface featured on Phobos are not totally understood either,” Phil Plait wrote at Discover last week after these new photographs were taken. “Specifically, all those parallel grooves are pretty weird! The current thinking is that they were actually caused by impacts on Mars! It works like this: some giant rock hits Mars and blasts vast quantities of material up and out, some of which reaches up into space. Phobos plows into this material, and the direct impacts with big chunks can form craters.” These new images were taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard the European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe after it passed within 66 miles of Mars’ surface. View more Pictures of the Day . Image: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).

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Picture of the Day: Phobos, Mars’ Large and Incredibly Close Moon

On the surface, both the Jets and the Patriots project the image of their coaches, and those images reside at N.F.L. extremes. But the teams are far more similar than given credit for.

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Jets and Patriots Are More Alike Than Portrayed

Maybe Chile has some advice. Just two days after the 33 Chilean miners were brought to the surface as the world looked on, four miners were trapped in a mine in Ecuador. They’re about 500 feet below the surface, and rescuers have yet to make contact…

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Four Miners Trapped in Ecuador

The rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in Chile was completed Wednesday night. As the last miner reached the surface, he voiced one hope.

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‘I hope this will never happen again,’ says last miner out

Ariel Ticona becomes the 32nd miner to be brought to the surface as the Phoenix capsule emerges from the ground.

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Baby Hope’s parents reunite

As the rescue capsule brought each Chilean miner to the surface, they sprang from obscurity into the global spotlight — a type of attention that they never sought.

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Crush of the spotlight awaits miners

Eighteen of the 33 trapped Chilean miners have been brought to the surface Wednesday. Family members, heads of state, and over 1,300 journalists are greeting them with cheers and hugs. The second miner to come out, Mario Sep

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera has described the rescue effort to bring miners to the surface as “magnificent”.

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‘A lesson of faith, unity and courage’

The 12th miner to be rescued, Edison Pena, has been greeted by his girlfriend at the surface.

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Capsule camera shows miners’ ascent

Five of the 33 miners who were trapped underground for two months ascended to the surface, beginning the end of a rescue operation that has inspired the nation and riveted the world.

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5 Miners Hoisted to Freedom in Chile

The first of the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground has reached the surface.

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First rescuer reaches Chilean miners

The moment Chile has been waiting for has almost arrived: The first of 33 trapped miners will be hoisted up to the surface this evening, according to President Sebastian Pinera. After delays for additional tests, the rescue should begin around 9 p.m….

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Chilean Miners Almost Free

Chilean rescue workers have successfully tested an escape capsule that will be used to hoist 33 trapped miners to the surface.

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Chile miners’ escape capsule tested

So far so good. An empty escape capsule was sent down the rescue shaft to within 40 feet of the trapped miners and successfully pulled back to the surface on Monday. “We didn’t send it (all the way) down because we could risk that someone will jump…

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Rescue Shaft Passes Safety Test

So far so good. An empty escape capsule was sent down the rescue shaft to within 40 feet of the trapped miners and successfully pulled back to the surface on Monday. “We didn’t send it (all the way) down because we could risk that someone will jump…

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Chile Rescue Shaft Passes Safety Test