By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 10:00 EST, 4 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:00 EST, 4 July 2013 . An image of Phobos (circled) passing overhead taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover on Mars. Space experts said the eery ring (pictured) is an artifact caused by the scattering of light inside the camera . Incredible new images of one of Mars' moons rising in the sky have been taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover based on the red planet. The exploration vehicle, which is fitted with a navigation camera, took 86 photos of Phobos rising after sunset on 28 June. They were transformed into a video by Nasa employees back on Earth. While the video is just 32 seconds long, it shows the remarkable moonrise, which actually lasted 27 minutes. Nasa experts at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the eery ring seen in the video is an artifact caused by the scattering of light inside the camera. Phobos, the moon seen in the video, measures just 14 miles wide but Mars' only other moon, Deimos is even more diminutive. Many astronomers believe that the two tiny moons are actually old asteroids snared by Mars' gravity millions of years ago. The strange video of the Martian moonrise was shared on the Curiosity Twitter feed in a post that read: 'You asked for the moon. Here it is! See footage from my Navcam of Mars' moon Phobos rising.' Nasa's Curiosity rover landed on Mars last August. It began its two-year tour to explore whether Mars ever supported microbial life, from the enormous Gale Crater. Nasa scientists controlling the robotic vehicle reported in March that a site called Yellowknife Bay could have supported life billions of years ago. Phobos, the moon seen in the video and pictured here, measures just 14 miles wide but Mars' only other moon, Deimos is even more diminutive. Many astronomers believe that the two tiny moons are actually old asteroids snared by Mars' gravity millions of years ago . While the rover has stuck close to its landing site so far, it is now on its way to its final destination, Mount Sharp. The strange mountain towers over the centre of Gales Crater by almost three and a half miles. It is of interest to scientists because its layers of rock can reveal information about the planet's changing environment over time. The video is not the first observation of Phobos made by the Curiosity rover. It took a photograph of the mini moon as it crossed the sun just five weeks after landing on the red planet last year. Nasa released the first official images captured by its Curiosity rover showing the surface of Mars in crystal clear detail last month. The space agency created a panorama made up of one billion pixels stitched together from nearly 900 exposures taken by cameras on-board Curiosity. Just days ago the Curiosity rover shared images of Shaler near the Gale Crater on Mars. It is conducting experiments on the rocks' distinctive layers .
Video of Phobos is made from 86 photos taken in just under half an hour by the Curiosity rover on Mars .
The moon pictured measures just 14 miles across and is believed to be an old asteroid .
Nasa's Curiosity rover is beginning its mission to climb Mount Sharp .
By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 10:00 EST, 4 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:00 EST, 4 July 2013 . An image of Phobos (circled) passing overhead taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover on Mars. Space experts said the eery ring (pictured) is an artifact caused by the scattering of light inside the camera . Incredible new images of one of Mars' moons rising in the sky have been taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover based on the red planet. The exploration vehicle, which is fitted with a navigation camera, took 86 photos of Phobos rising after sunset on 28 June. They were transformed into a video by Nasa employees back on Earth. While the video is just 32 seconds long, it shows the remarkable moonrise, which actually lasted 27 minutes. Nasa experts at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the eery ring seen in the video is an artifact caused by the scattering of light inside the camera. Phobos, the moon seen in the video, measures just 14 miles wide but Mars' only other moon, Deimos is even more diminutive. Many astronomers believe that the two tiny moons are actually old asteroids snared by Mars' gravity millions of years ago. The strange video of the Martian moonrise was shared on the Curiosity Twitter feed in a post that read: 'You asked for the moon. Here it is! See footage from my Navcam of Mars' moon Phobos rising.' Nasa's Curiosity rover landed on Mars last August. It began its two-year tour to explore whether Mars ever supported microbial life, from the enormous Gale Crater. Nasa scientists controlling the robotic vehicle reported in March that a site called Yellowknife Bay could have supported life billions of years ago. Phobos, the moon seen in the video and pictured here, measures just 14 miles wide but Mars' only other moon, Deimos is even more diminutive. Many astronomers believe that the two tiny moons are actually old asteroids snared by Mars' gravity millions of years ago . While the rover has stuck close to its landing site so far, it is now on its way to its final destination, Mount Sharp. The strange mountain towers over the centre of Gales Crater by almost three and a half miles. It is of interest to scientists because its layers of rock can reveal information about the planet's changing environment over time. The video is not the first observation of Phobos made by the Curiosity rover. It took a photograph of the mini moon as it crossed the sun just five weeks after landing on the red planet last year. Nasa released the first official images captured by its Curiosity rover showing the surface of Mars in crystal clear detail last month. The space agency created a panorama made up of one billion pixels stitched together from nearly 900 exposures taken by cameras on-board Curiosity. Just days ago the Curiosity rover shared images of Shaler near the Gale Crater on Mars. It is conducting experiments on the rocks' distinctive layers .
taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover on Mars. Space navigation camera, took 86 photos of Phobos in the video is an artifact caused by the ago. Phobos, the moon seen in the video and pictured here, measures just 14 miles wide but Mount Sharp. The strange mountain towers over the