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NASA’s Perseverance Captures Deimos Before Dawn in Striking Martian Sky Image

NASA’s Perseverance Captures Deimos Before Dawn in Striking Martian Sky Image

NASA’s rover photographs Deimos before sunrise using a 52-second combined exposure on Sol 1433.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 19 May 2025 22:29 IST

NASA’s Perseverance Captures Deimos Before Dawn in Striking Martian Sky Image

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Perseverance spots Mars' moon Deimos before dawn on Sol 1433

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Highlights

Deimos captured by the Perseverance rover just before sunrise on Sol 14
16 long-exposure images combined into a single 52-second night sky view
Bright stars Regulus and Algieba shine through in Mars’ Leo constellati

NASA's Perseverance rover has delivered a striking early morning image of Mars' moon Deimos, taken just before dawn on March 1, 2025 — Sol 1433 of the mission. Captured at 4:27 a.m. local time using the rover's left navigation camera, the view combines 16 long-exposure shots taken over 52 seconds. Each frame used the maximum exposure setting of 3.28 seconds, enabling the camera to glimpse faint celestial features in Mars' dim pre-dawn sky. Though the image appears hazy due to low light and digital noise, the effort reveals a rare visual of Deimos suspended in the Martian atmosphere.

Perseverance's Celestial Snapshot Reveals Deimos, Distant Stars, and Martian Sky Dynamics

As per a report from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the brightness of Deimos is accompanied by multiple white specks across the sky, many of which are likely caused by image noise. Some of them could be cosmic rays hitting the sensor while exposing. Two bright spots, Regulus and Algieba, are easily found in the image. It adds perspective on the rover's unique view of things, these stars, which belong to the Leo constellation. The image was stitched together onboard and transmitted later to Earth, where researchers analysed the result.

These make the resultant composition an example of other possible roles of the Perseverance rover as an observational instrument apart from geology and surface exploration. While atmospheric haze and digital distortion make it difficult to show in full clarity, the long-exposure effort shows the faintness with which Martian moons and nearby stars can, in fact, still be tracked under controlled conditions. Deimos appears brighter due to its reflective nature and proximity during this early-morning observation.

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Researchers believe this type of celestial photography may enhance understanding of Mars' sky conditions and moon dynamics. Deimos and Phobos, the Red Planet's two moons, are of growing interest as potential markers for future orbit-based missions. Capturing them from the surface during optimal lighting conditions offers new insights into their behaviour.

NASA continues to push imaging capabilities on Mars through Perseverance's tools. With each sol, even distant cosmic views — like Deimos before dawn — offer new visual science from the Martian frontier.