THE ORBITS AND MASSES OF THE MARTIAN SATELLITES AND THE LIBRATION OF PHOBOS

Section 4.4 reports a measured secular acceleration in Phobos’s mean longitude and attributes it to tides raised on Mars, supporting the claim that its orbit is changing. It does not state an orbital-decay rate of about 1.8 cm per year; the rate in the citing sentence is therefore not supported by our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

Table 6 gives Phobos’s mean orbital motion, but no uncertainty from which to verify an orbital-period accuracy of ∼10⁻⁴ s. Section 6, “Accuracy of the Orbits,” discusses position and mean-motion uncertainties without quantifying period accuracy in seconds. The citation is attached to the measurement-accuracy clause, not the citing authors’ one-year detectability inference; searches for period accuracy and uncertainty did not establish the cited figure. (LLM, conf=0.72)

Table 6 gives Phobos’s mean-longitude rate, but does not give an uncertainty for its orbital period. Section 6, “Accuracy of the Orbits,” discusses position and mean-motion uncertainties without establishing period accuracy of approximately 10⁻⁴ s (searched: orbital period accuracy, seconds, and mean-motion uncertainty). (LLM, conf=0.72)

Section 4.2 discusses estimates of Phobos’s mass, while Section 4.3 models its gravitational effects and libration. Neither addresses whether Phobos is hollow. Searches for hollow, interior, porosity, and density found no passage establishing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.73)