Geophysicists of France, Belgium and Japan have explained the origin of the present moons of Mars - Phobos and Deimos. As the scientists explained, Phobos and Deimos formed with many other moons as a result of the collision of the parent celestial body with Mars.
After the event that occurred in antiquity, by now only two moons remain. Geophysicists have performed computer simulations of the collision of the parent body with Mars. The work of scientists led to the following conclusions.
Three large moons of the planet
The collision of the parent body with Mars formed rings of fragments in the planet's orbit. Its outer edge was less dense than the inner one. Closer to Mars, a large and dense satellite formed, which then fell to the surface of the planet. At the outer edge of the ring, less dense Phobos and Deimos arose, which disturbed the matter in the inner ring, finally forming the current configuration. In the future, as scientists have shown, Mars will have one satellite (Deimos), and Phobos, which has an unstable orbit, is approaching the planet and will eventually fall on it.
The main feature of the study, scientists note that they have discovered a third, alternative mechanism for the formation of satellite planet systems. In the case of Mars, a dense moon originated within the Roche limit, causing it to fall onto the planet.
Previously, scientists believed that Phobos and Deimos were asteroids captured by the gravitational field of Mars. Later, hypotheses related to the shock origin of these celestial bodies began to gain popularity. The work of scientists has made it possible to find out why Mars has only two satellites to date.
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