Interesting MOC pictures - Place to post interesting MOC pictures

Palomar · 2005-01-26 13:46:22

Hmm.
More of those "dark sand dunes", which always seem to accumulate in the lowest regions and so often have sharply delineated borders with the neighbouring lighter-coloured material.
Hasn't anybody aimed a spectrometer at any of these extraordinarily dark areas, to see what these peculiar "sands" are made of?
Or isn't anybody at NASA even mildly curious about them? ???

*Probably not. NASA: The Ultimate Love/Hate Relationship.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15245]Tim Burton has been to Mars!

Seriously, though -- looks like one of his characters in "The Nightmare Before Christmas." :laugh: Cute. Not too far from Viking 1 lander site.

--Cindy

P.S.: (No, please -don't- remind me about that other movie of his, with "Mars" in the title...didn't like it that much)

Palomar · 2005-01-27 14:58:06

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … ]Polka-dot Mars

-or-

Who let the danged cat out? :;):

Nifty little dunes in unnamed crater in western Arabia Terra.

The dominant winds responsible for the movement of sand through this system blows almost directly north to south (top to bottom). The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-01-28 18:55:10

Yet more of that black sand that likes to keep itself aloof and never mix with the "common" pale sand .. < snooty sniff > ( ??? )

Palomar · 2005-01-30 15:35:53

Becquerels]http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15289]Becquerel's Bands

*Now that's a one in a million. Might once have been the site of a lake. In western Arabia Terra region. Fault lines visible. Would like to see this pic in color especially. Area is approximately 1.5 km wide.

I'll have to Google for the name "Becquerel"; it's been recurring in recent pics.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-02 06:19:07

*This from THEMIS. It's "Art Month" apparently (showcasing images for aesthetic value primarily):

Nighttime IR image:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15295]Yes, Virginia, there's a bunny wabbit on Mars

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 96]Another bunny wabbit?

Or part of one? Gosh, I didn't realize I could actually have been onto something in the "You Are a First Marsian Settler" thread. :;):

Let's see if a certain wabbit lover from MI reads this.

-*-

MOC image:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 7]Ascraeus Pits

That is a nifty image. Collapse pits -- but they look domed to me! (have seen examples like this before) -- on northern flank of Ascraeus Mons.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-02 07:34:24

That picture of Becquerel's Bands is amazing - such intricate layering!
I think it would be easier to discern the arrangement of the layers and their relative heights if it were a 3D photo. As it is, it's hard to get the 'lie of the land'.

I have the same trouble you do, Cindy, with those Ascraeus Pits looking convex rather than concave. :bars:
One of the reasons that some crater pictures look that way is because of the lighting direction. In this case, the light is coming from the bottom of the picture, but we're conditioned to expect the light to come from above us. Since the top half of the crater is illuminated, we see it as a convex structure lit from above, instead of a concave structure lit from below.
Very irritating!
If it's possible to look at such pictures the other way up, I find it's easier to see the craters the way they really are. But it's not always convenient to do that when the photo is on a computer screen, of course!

djellison · 2005-02-02 09:09:28

If you're using Win XP - then save the image - double click on it and in the normal windows image viewer there's a rotate thing. I find that orientating things so that the light source is from the top often helps - although given time, I can usually MAKE my brain flip inverted craters back 'into' the image as opposed to looklike like a strange lump with a sharm ring-ditch - and I do that by imagining, given the actual light direction, what a little cube sat on the surface would look like, and which direction the shadow would be cast - I often find that dodgy craters pop back into place when I tell my brain where the light is.

very VERY rarely can I watch the film of the Apollo 11 LEm landing wihtout seing lots of domes on the surface instead of craters.

Doug

Palomar · 2005-02-03 07:39:36

That picture of Becquerel's Bands is amazing - such intricate layering!
I think it would be easier to discern the arrangement of the layers and their relative heights if it were a 3D photo. As it is, it's hard to get the 'lie of the land'.
I have the same trouble you do, Cindy, with those Ascraeus Pits looking convex rather than concave. :bars:
One of the reasons that some crater pictures look that way is because of the lighting direction. In this case, the light is coming from the bottom of the picture, but we're conditioned to expect the light to come from above us. Since the top half of the crater is illuminated, we see it as a convex structure lit from above, instead of a concave structure lit from below.
Very irritating!

*Yeah, I agree with your comments about Becquerel's Bands. A 3D image would definitely be wonderful. I've seen canyon walls in SE Utah which have a similar appearance -- undulating stepped-like appearance, although the canyon walls themselves are very smooth...which of course these Bands may not be.

As for the domed appearance and angle of the sunlight...yeah, you're right (we're used to light source from above). Sometimes I forget that, when looking at these photos! :laugh:

Here's a 1997 image from Pathfinder (I can't see a reason to start a new thread, so will pop this in here -- REB doesn't seem to mind an occasional non-MOC pic being posted here):

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970804.html]Rusty Sunset on Mars

That's a gorgeous image.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-03 11:43:01

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap0210 … ectangular Ridges on Mars

*Nice close-up of "Inca City."

Two competing progenitor theories include hardened sand dunes and once-molten rock that seeped through surface cracks and cooled...the Mars Global Surveyor images now show them to be part of a larger circular pattern, indicating an origin possibly related to the impact crater.

It's the best (and only IIRC) closeup I've yet seen of the region. :up: Will be interesting to watch and see if they ever figure out why the rectangular shape.

--Cindy

hubricide · 2005-02-03 23:30:07

There are a few weird shapes in that "Inca City" image..

If you look at the mound/hole (I don't know where the light is coming from) about 1/6th of the way from the left and halfway down, it appears to be basically symmetrical and about the right shape for the foundation of a building. To the 'southwest' of that is another symmetrical-looking mound/hole that also looks building-foundation-like to me.

The straightish ridges mentioned are interesting, but they don't have any obvious analog to anything man-made I can think of (except for a huge stadium with buildings in it), so I will ignore them.

Sure, in all likelihood the whole mess was formed by random things smashing around and melting and whatnot, but I wouldn't mind if I was right.

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-04 07:39:23

Thanks for the tip about rotating the image, Doug.

As for that 'Inca City', Hubricide, I wouldn't mind if you turned out to be right, either!
But I don't see as much symmetry as you do in those features you mentioned, I'm afraid. It all looks suspiciously natural to me - just an eroded crater, albeit with some unusual features.
[Somebody prove me wrong .. I'd love it! ]

Palomar · 2005-02-09 09:48:51

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 5373]Looks a bit like Arabic script.

*Lots of different details going on in that pic. Are called Chasma Boreale dunes.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-10 06:56:54

Yes!
Absolutely .. I can see the "Arabic script".

Palomar · 2005-02-14 13:18:45

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 5439]North Polar Polygons

*Looks like a skin. Always enjoy pics from this region of Mars the most.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … ]Well...it is THAT day

Fine, Mars: We love you too.

--Cindy

REB · 2005-02-18 12:53:32

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r10_r15 … .html]Nice Dunes and some Olivine thrown in at no extra charge

REB · 2005-02-18 13:02:22

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r10_r15 … .html]Some more of that weird Hellas terrain like I posted a few months ago.

This is very near the lowest point on Mars, where temperature and pressure are sometimes where liquid water can exist on the surface. Of course, in Mars’ dry air, any such water would quickly evaporate, but in the soil, it would stay liquid.

I have not looked at MOC pictures much in the last three months. Have they added more?

Palomar · 2005-02-25 10:23:48

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15573]A photo of bacteria on Mars!

*Just kidding. Polar pits.

Now's a good time to ask: Does anyone have access to a link which shows MGS's projected flight path over Mars on a daily or weekly basis? I'm curious as to how they determine over which area it'll fly next, patterns of orbit, etc.

-*-

REB writes:

I have not looked at MOC pictures much in the last three months. Have they added more?

Yeah, but over the past month especially it seems the inflow of pics has slowed to a mere trickle. :hm:

--Cindy

djellison · 2005-02-25 10:33:53

They get added in 6 month batches every 6 months dont they?

Last batch was October I think - next batch will be Aprilish?

Doug

Palomar · 2005-03-02 15:24:23

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15634]Dust devil tracks -everywhere-

*...but, as is typical, not a devil itself in sight. :-\ Ghostly critters, taunting us it seems.

Northern plains region, literally crisscrossed by devil tracks.

Patches of different-colored (?) areas. Looks like Modern Art.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-04 17:12:29

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 5665]Devil streaks?

*Methinks someone doth have their wires crossed. Those look like wind streaks to me. And I've not yet heard of dust devil tracks referred to as "devil streaks."

Of course, I'll stand for correction if need be.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: More "THEMIS as art"

Whats]http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15666]What's up with the bicycle chain link reference? ???

I don't get it (not very mechanically inclined, understatement).

--a minute later after looking at the pic again--

Oh, do they mean the hour-glass shaped hills, towards the upper right-hand corner? I guess that sort of looks like the link in a bicycle chain. :hm:

dicktice · 2005-03-04 18:37:33

Cindy: Old wet-plate photography produced midday city street scenes entirely devoid of the throngs of people, horses and wagons, due to five minute exposure times. I know it's not analogous, but the probability of catching a dust devil "in the act" by an orbiting probe must be vanishingly small, while the tracks remain. Obvious I know, but you conjured up those weird city-scapes void of inhabitants (like some H.G. Wells plot involving invisible aliens visitors with super-high metabolisms).

Palomar · 2005-03-05 09:05:56

Cindy: Old wet-plate photography produced midday city street scenes entirely devoid of the throngs of people, horses and wagons, due to five minute exposure times. I know it's not analogous, but the probability of catching a dust devil "in the act" by an orbiting probe must be vanishingly small, while the tracks remain. Obvious I know, but you conjured up those weird city-scapes void of inhabitants (like some H.G. Wells plot involving invisible aliens visitors with super-high metabolisms).

*Hi dicktice:

But in every photo I've yet seen of dust devil tracks, they look like crisp, well-defined "threads" on the surface of Mars. Definite tracks.

The image I posted yesterday does look like wind streaks to me. Here's http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/msss/camer … 99_peds/]a different photo (of wind streaks) for comparison.

Yesterday was the first time I've seen a photo like that being associated with dust devils, and I've never heard of "dust devil steaks." I suppose "streaks" could be used synonymously with "tracks" ... but that's beside the point, because the appearance itself is very different.

I think whoever created the caption for that photo made a mistake.

--Cindy

dicktice · 2005-03-05 09:22:32

You're right, of course. I failed to click on "Devil streaks," letting your evocative "Methinks ..." start my imagination going. I'll pay more attention to the content next time, and not the images that your archaic wording conjures.

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