Moons · Moon
A moon of Mars. Explore its views, where their colours came from, and palettes you can use.
Featured palette: Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources) (Sampled from this image)
#7B7B7B#868686#797979#6C6C6C#979797#5B5B5B#464646
Credit: NASA/JPL Solar System Simulator; Viking images processed at the USGS.
About Phobos
A moon of Mars.
| Classification | Moon |
|---|---|
| Parent body | Mars |
| Mean radius | 11.1 km ± 0.04 kmmean radius · NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics |
| Orbital period | 0.32 daysorbital period around Mars · mean elements, epoch 2000-01-01.5 TDB · NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics |
Why these colours?
Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources)
A global map stitched from spacecraft images (Viking for the moons of Mars, Voyager for the moons of Saturn and Uranus). The images are tone-matched and largely monochrome, so these tones show brightness more than colour.
From: Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources) Enhanced visible colour
Colour clusters describe pixels in an image; they cannot identify a mineral, a gas or a physical temperature. Shares of pixels describe the sampled region of the image, not the object’s surface.
Colours from selected views
Palettes sampled from identified images and regions, or calculated from a documented model. These values describe each image or model, not one permanent colour of Phobos.
Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources)
Sampled from this image · Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources)
#7B7B7BRGB 123, 123, 123region average#868686RGB 134, 134, 13427% of the region#797979RGB 121, 121, 12124% of the region#6C6C6CRGB 108, 108, 10819% of the region#979797RGB 151, 151, 15113% of the region#5B5B5BRGB 91, 91, 9112% of the region#464646RGB 70, 70, 705% of the region
See where these colours came from
Creative palettes inspired by Phobos
A design derived from the selected representation. It is not a scientific colour measurement. Each colour keeps the sampled colour it was made from.
Inspired by Phobos
Inspired by this object
#2E2E2ERGB 46, 46, 46from #464646#4F4F4FRGB 79, 79, 79from #5B5B5B#727272RGB 114, 114, 114from #6C6C6C#979797RGB 151, 151, 151from #797979#BFBFBFRGB 191, 191, 191from #868686#E8E8E8RGB 232, 232, 232from #979797
Colours of the first view of Phobos with their lightness spread evenly, for a design palette.
Explore the views and the 3D model
Pick a colour from the image. Click or tap the picture to read a colour. Picked colours are yours, not catalogue samples.
Sphere with a global map A sphere carrying a global map; the shape is a sphere, not a measured shape, and the map’s own coverage gaps are shown as they are. Objects are enlarged or scaled for inspection unless stated otherwise.
Use these colours
Every palette above opens in the palette generator. With JavaScript you can also add colours to your cosmic palette, save them, make a gradient or pattern, preview them in a design or a room (you choose which colour goes on which surface), check digital accessibility and export them. Each colour keeps the view and sample it came from.
Paint matches compare digital swatches for design inspiration. They are not physical equivalents of light from space. Edits create a new design palette. The original representation remains unchanged.
Sources
- 3D Resources — NASA
- Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources) — NASA 3D Resources
- Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
- Planetary Satellite Mean Elements — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
Image credits
- Global mosaic texture (NASA 3D Resources): NASA/JPL Solar System Simulator; Viking images processed at the USGS. NASA 3D Resources (free, without copyright; NASA media guidelines). Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 8ec807b353eb28f44b5aa24b8a887935ee5563f5b63bde2430a9988220f71463).
Images were resized once for the web; colours were measured from the published files (k-means in OKLab, pcke-oklab-kmeans-1); calculated colours use the CIE 1931 2° observer. Facts last reviewed 25 October 2026. Catalogue pcke-cosmos-2026-10-25, page revision ec97d0f5b6e9. No ESA, ESO or NASA endorsement is implied.