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RobS

Banned

From: South Bend, IN

Registered: 2002-01-15

Posts: 1,701

Website

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Not to change the subject, but there's one of those cheap tabloid newspapers on sale at US grocery stores right now with a headline about cats on Mars. There's a doctored photo on the cover showing what look like funny house cats running around on the surface of Mars. I had to laugh when I saw that.

One of the other headlines on the front page: "I am the mother of Elvis's baby." There was a third headline that was equally strange and unvbelievable.

Quite hilarious. Thank goodness we have the freedom of the press in the United States; it protects the right to print some of the strangest and most ridiculous lies imaginable.

         -- RobS

Yang Liwei Rocket

Member

Registered: 2004-03-03

Posts: 993

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … B030R1.jpg

Mars skyline

[http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit … 69L4M1.JPG]http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars....4M1.JPG

---

'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

Stu

Member

From: Kendal, Cumbria, England

Registered: 2001-09-04

Posts: 318

Website

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Everyone...

Feast your eyes on this... 

(Josh - fancy a hike around that crater rim gathering samples..?  )

[http://mer.rlproject.com/index.php?act= … ost&id=486]http://mer.rlproject.com/index.php?act= … ost&id=486

---

Stuart Atkinson

Skywatching Blog: [url]http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky[/url]

Astronomical poetry, including mars rover poems: [url]http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/TheVerse[/url]

cassioli

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2004-02-23

Posts: 218

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Interesting photo, isn't it?...

:hm:

It's an animated detail of bottomleft photos I found [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … _n067.html]here.

Just an hidden rock, or... something moves on Mars?!?!?

Luca

chaosman

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2004-02-22

Posts: 39

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Interesting find..I'm not sure...could be something moving..could have been a hidden rock...

interesting !

Lars_J

Member

Registered: 2004-02-11

Posts: 82

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Here is JPL's official crater panorama:

[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … R1_br2.jpg]http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery....br2.jpg

Lars_J

Member

Registered: 2004-02-11

Posts: 82

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Regarding that "moving" thing... It doesn't popup or down - it just moves sideways quite a bit, behind a rock. It is actually much further back than it looks, and compare its movement with the objects just above it.

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Man, downloading these large pancam images on dialup sure is punishing, but they're very well worth it!

With some imagination, I can see that chute as a tent, perched semi-precariously on the edge of the basin by young Martians who want a good view of the crater below. Perhaps when they wake in the morning they have a sport of sliding down the edge, "sand surfing." The edges probably aren't that steep, butone can wonder, no?

---

Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
--------
The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

atomoid

Member

From: Santa Cruz, CA

Registered: 2004-02-13

Posts: 252

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Interesting photo, isn't it?...

:hm:

It's an animated detail of bottomleft photos I found [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … _n067.html]here.

Just an hidden rock, or... something moves on Mars?!?!?

Luca

some things change in that animated gif of the Left/Right pancam images:

1) the big white shape at near upper left has a dark rock behind it moving to the left. you can see many other rocks in the same plane move to the left as well. it looks really extreme in the gif since you cant tell how far away the rocks are form the forground, but if you look at the [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … 16R0M1.JPG]Right cam view and the [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … 16L0M1.JPG]Left cam view you can see its merely due to parallax, look at the [http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/stereo … 0012-N.jpg]3D anaglyph of it to see how far away those rocks are.

2) but maybe you were actually talking about the sort of crescent hump of dark rock that suddenly appears (near the middle right of the gif animation) and can be seen in the[http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/n/067/2N132320012EFF1800P1816L0M1.JPG]Left cam view. theres also a couple rocks that disappear behind other rocks to the right of that hump as well... or maybe it was something else that moved? didnt see it.

Not sure, but i think its just a lighting difference on that hump that makes it disappear, since its too big to be hidden from view, thought it does seem a bit extreme... that certainly is odd, i wonder how long time between these exposures... either its a Horta or the mystery is unsolved

---

"I think it would be a good idea". - [url=http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/]Mahatma Gandhi[/url], when asked what he thought of Western civilization.

cassioli

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2004-02-23

Posts: 218

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Here is JPL's official crater panorama:

[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … R1_br2.jpg]http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery....br2.jpg

Yesterday I found an unofficial version of this photo (sorry, can't remeber the link now) which joins different filters, enhancing the blule: in the opposite side of the creater, just under the heatshield and on its right, you can see what could be a HUGE stripe of blueberries covering the  crater! (I can suppose a 100x20 meters size or more).
In the offical photo you can only see a darker area with a bit of blue.

I'll see if I can find the link.

Luca

cassioli

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2004-02-23

Posts: 218

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Interesting photo, isn't it?...

:hm:

It's an animated detail of bottomleft photos I found [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … _n067.html]here.

Just an hidden rock, or... something moves on Mars?!?!?

Luca

some things change in that animated gif of the Left/Right pancam images:

1) the big white shape at near upper left has a dark rock behind it moving to the left. you can see many other rocks in the same plane move to the left as well. it looks really extreme in the gif since you cant tell how far away the rocks are form the forground, but if you look at the [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … 16R0M1.JPG]Right cam view and the [http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/galler … 16L0M1.JPG]Left cam view you can see its merely due to parallax, look at the [http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/stereo … 0012-N.jpg]3D anaglyph of it to see how far away those rocks are.

I am not talking about rocks which look like they're moving just because they have different positions in the two frames (they have diff. pos. due to diff. point of view). I am talking about an "object" which is present in one frame but not in the other one: I discovered it looking at the anaglyph. When an object is present only in ONE of the two images of the anaglyph, you see a "phantom", a "transparent" object.

2) but maybe you were actually talking about the sort of crescent hump of dark rock that suddenly appears (near the middle right of the gif animation) and can be seen in the[http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/n/067/2N132320012EFF1800P1816L0M1.JPG]Left cam view. theres also a couple rocks that disappear behind other rocks to the right of that hump as well... or maybe it was something else that moved? didnt see it.

I am tolking about the "thing" which looks like a "wheel with a hub" lieing down (what the hell is the -ing form of "lie"?!?)

Not sure, but i think its just a lighting difference on that hump that makes it disappear, since its too big to be hidden from view, thought it does seem a bit extreme... that certainly is odd, i wonder how long time between these exposures... either its a Horta

"Horta"?!?

I did not specify what I was referring to as I didn't want to have an influence on readers' opinion about this image.

Luca

atomoid

Member

From: Santa Cruz, CA

Registered: 2004-02-13

Posts: 252

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

I am tolking about the "thing" which looks like a "wheel with a hub" lieing down (what the hell is the -ing form of "lie"?!?)

"Horta"?!?

I did not specify what I was referring to as I didn't want to have an influence on readers' opinion about this image.

- "lying" is the word you're looking for (another shining example of the english language not making sense...)

- unfortunately, the MERs cant mind-meld, but a pancam [http://www.70disco.com/startrek/horta.htm]picture of a Horta on the run would do just fine, yep. it would at least explain the origin of the "blueberries"

- i didnt see a wheel, but if youre talking about the same object (yeah now it looks liek a wheel to me, a little bit...) but thanks for challenge!

---

"I think it would be a good idea". - [url=http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/]Mahatma Gandhi[/url], when asked what he thought of Western civilization.

cassioli

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2004-02-23

Posts: 218

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Ok, guys, it's not a wheel, it's just... some rocks!

Look at this comparison; I simply deleted the upper part of the "wheel" in both photos:
       

Although these appear to be the SAME photo, they are NOT: they corresponds 1-to-1 with photos above!
       

Blue and red lines point to features which remain the same; green lines point to two rocks which are separated in first photo and appear joined in second one, due to changed point of view.
We lost half of the wheel... the other half is just the same, but a bit more difficult to see, due to low resolution.

Sorry, no Martians! ;-)

Luca

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Hmm, I know that the outcrop is like one of the greatest scientific finds on Mars, but am I the only one kind of disappointed that Opportunity hasn't started really roving? It's been nearly 1/3rd of the "warrentied" lifetime of the rover, and we haven't gone far at all. Spirit is really showing Opportunity up here!

---

Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
--------
The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

Yang Liwei Rocket

Member

Registered: 2004-03-03

Posts: 993

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

The rover is moving out!!!

[http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opport … 12L0M1.JPG]http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars....0M1.JPG

---

'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

Lars_J

Member

Registered: 2004-02-11

Posts: 82

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Spirit spots the southern walls of Gusev crater!
[http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit … 48L7M1.JPG]http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars....7M1.JPG (the very faint mountain range in the background)

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Some other really nice pics from Spirit...

[http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2M1326 … 1.JPG.html]http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2M1326 … 1.JPG.html  sandcakes...
[http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2N1326 … 1.JPG.html]http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2N1326 … 1.JPG.html very straight mini-dune
[http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2P1326 … 1.JPG.html]http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2P1326 … 1.JPG.html Big dune (EDIT: it's nicknamed Serpent Dune)

Shaun Barrett

Member

From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Registered: 2001-12-28

Posts: 2,843

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Thanks Rxke!
    The sand in the 'sand cakes' picture sure looks sticky, doesn't it?
    Reminds me of salty terrestrial beach sand.

---

The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Glad you liked the pic,  not sure if this is actually sand 'already' but it looks like sand-in-the-making: soft rocks in the end-state of weathering...

(Gee, it's in times like these i hate it not being more fluent in English...)

BTW, i called it sand-cakes, because for me, too, it immediately brought back memories of the beach... They *do* look like sticky sand, very wet, the top dried out and crumbling in the summer sun... Pictures can be deceiving...

Shaun Barrett

Member

From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Registered: 2001-12-28

Posts: 2,843

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Don't worry about your English, Rxke; I've never had any trouble understanding anything you've posted here.
    Actually, there's somebody here who shall remain nameless, who is supposed to be a native-born English speaker, whom I find almost incomprehensible at times!
                                                         

    You're doing just fine, believe me.
                                                       

---

The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

GraemeSkinner

Member

From: Eden Hall, Cumbria

Registered: 2004-02-20

Posts: 563

Website

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Some other really nice pics from Spirit...
[http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2M1326 … 1.JPG.html]http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2M1326 … 1.JPG.html

This one has a tube shaped object under one of the rocks on the lower left. Its a nice clear and crisp image too.

The straight mini-dune looks strange the way it just rises from the surrounding rock strewn surface in such a nice line. The recent images have been really good to look at - not from a scientific point of view, just to sit and stare at, with a bit of wild imagination thrown in working out your best route around the rocks if you were walking amongst them. Lets hope for many more to come.

---

There was a young lady named Bright.
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
in a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
--Arthur Buller--

Yang Liwei Rocket

Member

Registered: 2004-03-03

Posts: 993

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

move through the crater in 3-D
[http://www.hazyhills.com/mars3d/spirit/20040313.html]http://www.hazyhills.com/mars3d/spirit/20040313.html

---

'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

AAARGH! Spirit ruined the beatiful dune! Those tourists are all the same...

[http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2N1327 … 1.JPG.html]http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/2N1327 … 1.JPG.html

And Opportunity is out of the crater, judging from this very relaxing, beautiful picture:
[http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1N1327 … 1.JPG.html]http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1N1327 … 1.JPG.html

Shaun Barrett

Member

From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Registered: 2001-12-28

Posts: 2,843

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

That picture of the sand dune (that the damned tourists ruined! ) is quite interesting.
    The surface looks so dry and loose but, just beneath a thin crust, the material is much darker and very cohesive.
    I'm thinking it must be quite damp and salty just under the surface. Is that the official viewpoint at JPL too at the moment?
                                                    ???

---

The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

SohoBoy

Member

From: London

Registered: 2004-02-10

Posts: 42

Re: Spirit & Opportunity*4* - continue here

Spirit is really showing Opportunity up here!

It's not a race.The aim is to do the maximum ammount of science, not cover the greatest distance.

[http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994790]Blueberries = Hematite

and heres what looks like a nice little rock with a hematite layer on its top surface - blue grey and shiny

[http://www.keithlaney.com/OCI/R32.jpg]http://www.keithlaney.com/OCI/R32.jpg