#PPOD: Deimos Before Sunrise 🌄

NASAPersevere captured this view of Deimos, the smaller of Mars' two moons, shining in the sky at 4:27 a.m. local time on March 1, 2025, the 1,433rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. In the dark before dawn, the rover's left navigation camera used its maximum long-exposure time of 3.28 seconds to capture 16 individual shots, which were combined into a single image that was later sent to Earth. In total, the image represents an exposure time of about 52 seconds.

The low light and long exposures add digital noise, making the image hazy. Many of the white specks seen in the sky are likely noise; some may be cosmic rays. Two of the brightest white specks are Regulus and Algieba, stars that are part of the constellation Leo.

"Woodstock Crater," at center right, is roughly a half-mile (750 meters) away from the rover. At the time, Perseverance was en route to "Witch Hazel Hill."

Credit: NASA NASAJPL Caltech