NASA's Hubble captures Mars' tiny moon Phobos photobombing the Red Planet! - Watch video

Image courtesy: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

New Delhi: Giving scientists hope of discovering evolutionary secrets of the universe, NASA's Hubble space telescope is keeping everyone on their toes with its incredible images.

In the past, Hubble has helped unearth massive revelations, most of which have turned out to be breakthroughs in the world of space.

Helping scientists reach out into the depths of the universe and discover numerous things that would have otherwise, been impossible, Hubble has been highly dependable.

The telescope has played the role of astronomers' and scientists' third eye, often digging out information that was least expected.

Space enthusiasts are going to love what Hubble has captured with its sharp eye this time – the Martian moon Phobos photobombing the Red Planet!

Yes, Hubble caught Mars' tiny moon Phobos during its orbital trek around the planet. It appears star-like in the Hubble pictures because of its minute size.

However, NASA says that Hubble wasn't aiming for Phobos, but its observations were intended to photograph Mars, and the moon's cameo appearance was a bonus.

Check out the video of Phobos orbiting Mars below!

A football-shaped object just 16.5 miles by 13.5 miles by 11 miles, Phobos is one of the smallest moons in the solar system. It is so tiny that it would fit comfortably inside the Washington, D.C. Beltway.

The little moon completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes, which is faster than Mars rotates. Rising in the Martian west, it runs three laps around the Red Planet in the course of one Martian day, which is about 24 hours and 40 minutes. It is the only natural satellite in the solar system that circles its planet in a time shorter than the parent planet's day.

According to NASA, Hubble took the images of Phobos orbiting the Red Planet on May 12, 2016, when Mars was 50 million miles from Earth. This was just a few days before the planet passed closer to Earth in its orbit than it had in the past 11 years.

(Video courtesy: NASA Goddard)