{"id":1120,"date":"2026-08-08T18:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/?post_type=briefing&#038;p=1120"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:24:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:24:34","slug":"2026-08-08-earth-vanishes-behind-phobos-en","status":"publish","type":"briefing","link":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-08-08-earth-vanishes-behind-phobos-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth vanished from Mars behind Phobos in a one-pixel hide-and-seek"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>2026-08-08 18:30 KST<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Perseverance captured Earth disappearing and reappearing behind the Martian moon Phobos. From 314 million kilometers away, Earth was a single bright pixel.<\/p>\n<p>Earth did not physically vanish. Phobos completely blocked it along the rover\u2019s line of sight in an event called an occultation.<\/p>\n<h2>What does the sequence show?<\/h2>\n<p>On the Martian evening of July 2, 2026, Mastcam-Z took nine images. A bright Earth dot and dark crescent Phobos moved toward each other and overlapped.<\/p>\n<h2>Why is it a first?<\/h2>\n<p>It is humanity\u2019s first image from another planet\u2019s surface of Earth disappearing behind another object, a distant self-portrait taken from Mars.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/earth-vanishes-behind-phobos-en.jpg\" alt=\"NASA composite showing pixel-size Earth moving behind crescent Phobos in the Martian sky\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption class=\"op-briefing-image-caption\">Real composite from nine Mastcam-Z images taken July 2, 2026. NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS\/SSI.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Is Phobos larger than Earth?<\/h2>\n<p>Phobos is only about 27 kilometers wide. It looked larger because it was about 7,800 kilometers from Mars, while Earth was 314 million kilometers away.<\/p>\n<h2>Why was it hard to catch?<\/h2>\n<p>Phobos crosses the Martian sky three times daily, but exact alignment with Earth is rare. The team planned the geometry and still needed some luck.<\/p>\n<h2>Official primary sources<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/planets\/mars\/nasas-perseverance-rover-watches-earth-vanish-behind-martian-moon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Primary source: NASA\/JPL official event explanation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/mars-2020-perseverance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Primary source: NASA Perseverance mission page<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/mars-2020-perseverance\/mastcam-z\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Primary source: NASA Mastcam-Z instrument page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Perseverance recorded Earth disappearing behind Phobos from another planet\u2019s surface for the first time. It was an alignment, not a real disappearance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"class_list":["post-1120","briefing","type-briefing","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing\/1120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/briefing"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}