The Secrets of the Universe | How Mars Collided With a Pluto-Sized object in the Past | COSMOS in a minute #22 @TheSecretsoftheUniverse | Uploaded June 2023 | Updated October 2024, 4 days ago.
Shortly after its formation, Mars got hit by a Pluto-sized object. And this is how the two odd-looking moons of Mars likely formed. Earlier, it was believed that the two moons of Mars were captured asteroids. However, a new study shows that the impact hypothesis can actually explain the dynamics and the shapes of the Martian moons. According to the simulations, the object hit the northern hemisphere of Mars. The impact created a debris disk within 30 hours, and the moons accreted from the outer portion of this disk. This scenario is similar to the way our Moon formed. The simulations also showed that the impact would have caused Mars to wobble on its axis, which explains why the moons are now in such eccentric orbits. Analyzing their composition will tell us where these moons come from once and for all.

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