Your periodic reminder that scientists & engineers can do amazing things

Need to know Phobos’s orbit around Mars with greater precision? Detect the change in temperature of the Martian soil during a 30-second-long partial eclipse. With a seismograph.

If that paragraph makes sense to you and doesn’t blow your mind, you might be jaded. To me, this sounds like determining the age of a tree by calculating the average number of spots on butterflies in its shadow.

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A Martian solar eclipse, captured by the Curiosity rover. We live in the future.
Gif: NASA