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Coronet: A Star-Formation Ne …
Title Coronet: A Star-Formation Neighbor
Description While perhaps not quite as well known as its star-formation cousin Orion, the Corona Australis region (containing, at its heart, the Coronet cluster) is one of the nearest and most active regions of ongoing star formation. At only about 420 light-years away, the Coronet is over three times closer than the Orion nebula is to Earth. The Coronet contains a loose cluster of a few dozen young stars with a wide range of masses and at various stages of evolution, giving astronomers an opportunity to observe embryonic stars simultaneously in several wavelengths. This composite image shows the Coronet in X-rays from Chandra (purple) and infrared from Spitzer (orange, green, and cyan). The Spitzer image shows young stars plus diffuse emission from dust. Due to the host of young stars in different life stages in the Coronet, astronomers can use these data to pinpoint details of how the youngest stars evolve.
Goldstone Apple Valley Radio …
Description Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope
Full Description A special campaign *GAVRT: Rings In the New Year with Cassini-Huygens* allows students in grades K-12 to take Saturn's temperature at radio wavelengths by remotely controlling a 34-m diameter antenna located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) Project offers a unique opportunity for students to learn about science through radio astronomy while they are actually participating in authentic science instead of just reading about it . GAVRT is a science education partnership involving NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Lewis Center for Educational Research (LCER). The GAVRT Project currently involves students from 24 U.S. states and has American students in several countries in Asia and Europe through the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). Teachers use a standards-aligned curriculum that allows students to understand science concepts as they operate the radio telescope. Students have the opportunity for reflective assessment as they hear how NASA scientists have used their observations and as they preliminary analysis their data. To operate the telescope, students connect via the Internet to LCER's Mission Control where trained operators assist the students to conduct remotely controlled radio astronomy observations. Students use computers to record the extremely faint radio waves collected by the radio telescope and analyze real data. In real time the students are able to derive an approximate thermal temperature and compare these values to data that has been corrected by scientists at JPL and other research institutions. Through this process students have the opportunity to become part of a science/education team, participating with scientists in ongoing missions and special observing campaigns. A small part of the radio emission from Saturn comes from lightning bolts or electrons caught in it's magnetic field, but most of the radiation picked up by the GAVRT telescope comes from blackbody emission. Blackbody emission is the radiation given off by all objects because of their thermal energy. The hotter an object, the more blackbody emission it radiates at all frequencies, and hot objects put more of their energy into high frequencies while cooler objects radiate a greater fraction of their output at low frequencies. For example, while the Sun emits plenty of radio waves, it is so hot that the peak of it's radiation comes out as visible light. Saturn is much colder, and hardly emits any visible light (although we can see it by reflected sunlight). Instead, most of Saturn's blackbody radiation is at infrared and radio frequencies. The amount of radiation from Saturn that we can see with the GAVRT telescope depends on Saturn's temperature, how far away it is, the angle at which the rings are shadowing the planet and reflecting radiation, and the chemical composition of the rings and the planetary atmosphere. As these things change, GAVRT observations keep, track of the variations, supplying data to supplement the close-up observations of Cassini. Students' measurements are often included in papers appearing in major scientific journals. Their science efficacy improves as students learn they can make valuable contributions to the world of science. Scientists value the student-produced data and the involvement of the scientists impacts the attitudes and abilities of students in the classroom.
Date January 14, 2005
Cat Scratches
Description Cat Scratches
Full Description This image is a portion of the swath acquired by the Cassini Titan radar mapper on Feb. 15, 2005, on the mission's second opportunity to image the surface with radar. The frame, measuring about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from top to bottom, shows an area near the northeast corner of the large optically bright region named Xanadu. Running across the image are a series of roughly parallel, mostly east-west dark linear features that join and separate, which are not seen in the previous radar images. They may be formed by the action of eastward-flowing winds, or geologic processes acting on the crust itself. In places they cut through adjacent terrain, while elsewhere the lineaments seem to be interrupted by brighter material, appearing again on the other side. Seams between radar segments are visible as horizontal, sawtooth-shaped lines. Bright material in radar images may be rough or sloped toward the radar (which is observing from the top in this frame). Also, some of what is seen may in fact be below the surface, revealed as the radio waves penetrate overlying, radar-transparent material. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date February 16, 2005
SOHO Watches Saturn and Cass …
Description SOHO Watches Saturn and Cassini Pass Behind the Sun
Full Description In this SOHO image taken July 21, 2005, the Sun is represented by the white circle in the center. Saturn is the bright object to the left of the Sun. Interestingly, the streak accompanying Saturn is not the rings but a distortion caused by Saturn's brightness. Saturn is approaching "superior conjunction," that is, it will be almost directly behind the Sun from Earth -- thus the Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn, will not be able to send or receive transmissions normally. Regular science data collection has been temporarily suspended. As Cassini passes closest by the limb (edge) of the Sun on July 24 PDT, communications will be impossible because of the Sun's radio noise. The spacecraft will regain full communication with Earth on July 27, once again returning Saturn science data. In the meantime, controllers are sending approximately 100 commands per day to test communication status. Cassini radio scientists are taking advantage of this opportunity to study the Sun's corona from its effects on the radio signals that reach Earth. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite) orbits the Sun parked in one of the five gravitational-neutral spots, called Lagrange Points. This specific spot, called L1, stays in the same place relative to the Sun and the Earth, offering a continuously uninterrupted view of the Sun. Saturn is not in sight again until the evening of July 24. After that date, it will be to the RIGHT of the sun. For more information on "superior conjunction," visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf1-2.html#conj . For more information on the Lagrange Points, visit: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/ob_techorbit1.html For more information on SOHO, visit: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ . Finally, the latest SOHO images are available at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/1024/latest.gif . Credit: SOHO -- http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Date July 22, 2005
SOHO Watches Saturn and Cass …
Description SOHO Watches Saturn and Cassini Pass Behind the Sun
Full Description In this SOHO image taken July 21, 2005, the Sun is represented by the white circle in the center. Saturn is the bright object to the left of the Sun. Interestingly, the streak accompanying Saturn is not the rings but a distortion caused by Saturn's brightness. Saturn is approaching "superior conjunction," that is, it will be almost directly behind the Sun from Earth -- thus the Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn, will not be able to send or receive transmissions normally. Regular science data collection has been temporarily suspended. As Cassini passes closest by the limb (edge) of the Sun on July 24 PDT, communications will be impossible because of the Sun's radio noise. The spacecraft will regain full communication with Earth on July 27, once again returning Saturn science data. In the meantime, controllers are sending approximately 100 commands per day to test communication status. Cassini radio scientists are taking advantage of this opportunity to study the Sun's corona from its effects on the radio signals that reach Earth. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite) orbits the Sun parked in one of the five gravitational-neutral spots, called Lagrange Points. This specific spot, called L1, stays in the same place relative to the Sun and the Earth, offering a continuously uninterrupted view of the Sun. Saturn is not in sight again until the evening of July 24. After that date, it will be to the RIGHT of the sun. For more information on "superior conjunction," visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf1-2.html#conj . For more information on the Lagrange Points, visit: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/ob_techorbit1.html For more information on SOHO, visit: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ . Finally, the latest SOHO images are available at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/1024/latest.gif . Credit: SOHO -- http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Date July 22, 2005
Circus Maximus
Description Circus Maximus
Full Description A huge annular feature with an outer diameter of approximately 440 kilometers (273 miles) appears in this image taken with Cassini's Titan radar mapper. It resembles a large crater or part of a ringed basin, either of which could be formed when a comet or asteroid tens of kilometers in size slammed into Titan. This is the first impact feature identified in radar images of Titan. The surface of Titan appears to be very young compared to other Saturnian satellites. In Titan's case, debris raining down from the atmosphere or other geologic processes may mask or remove the craters. The pattern of brightness suggests that there is topography associated with this feature, for example, in the center of the image there appear to be mounds each about 25 kilometers (15 miles) across. Since they are dark on their lower edges that face away from the radar and bright on the opposite face, they must be elevated above the surrounding terrain. This image is a part of a larger swath acquired on Feb. 15, 2005, on Cassini's second opportunity to map Titan's surface via radar. Seams between radar segments are visible as horizontal, sawtooth-shaped lines. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date February 16, 2005
Two Moons Passing in the Nig …
title Two Moons Passing in the Night
date 08.26.2005
description Taking advantage of extra solar energy collected during the day, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit settled in for an evening of stargazing, photographing the two moons of Mars as they crossed the night sky. "It is incredibly cool to be running an observatory on another planet," said planetary scientist Jim Bell of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., lead scientist for the panoramic cameras on Spirit and Opportunity. In this animation, both martian moons, Deimos on the left and Phobos on the right, travel across the night sky in front of the constellation Sagittarius. Part of Sagittarius resembles an upside-down teapot. Phobos is the brighter object on the right, Deimos is on the left. Spirit acquired these enhanced-brightness images with the panoramic camera on the night of sol 585 (Aug. 26, 2005). Scientists will use images of the two moons to better map their orbital positions, learn more about their composition, and monitor the presence of nighttime clouds or haze. Spirit took the six images that make up this animation using the camera's broadband filter, which was designed specifically for acquiring images under low-light conditions. *Image credit:* NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Texas A&M
Mars Rover Panorama Shows Vi …
title Mars Rover Panorama Shows Vista From 'Lookout' Point
date 04.29.2005
description From a ridgeline vantage point overlooking slopes, valleys and plains, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has returned its latest color panorama of the martian landscape. The approximately true color image shows a full 360-degree view from a site informally named "Larry's Lookout," about halfway up "Husband Hill." Dr. Jim Bell of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., lead scientist for the panoramic cameras on both the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, said, "Spirit and the rover team worked hard over many weeks to get to this vantage point along the flanks of Husband Hill.  The rugged ridge and valley terrain seen here is similar in some respects to the view seen months earlier at the 'West Spur,' but the chemistry and mineralogy here are significantly different. Specifically, some of the areas seen here amid the outcrop rocks and in places where the subsurface was exposed by the rover wheels contain the highest sulfur abundances ever measured by Spirit." The view includes the summit of Husband Hill about 200 meters (about 660 feet) southward and about 45 meters (about 150 feet) higher. As Spirit continues uphill, scientists are looking for evidence about whether the intensity of water- related alteration increases with elevation or whether there are pockets of more heavily altered rocks and soils scattered throughout the hills. Spirit's panoramic camera took more than 300 individual frames between Feb. 27 and March 2 that are combined into the big picture. Downloading the frames to Earth took several weeks, and processing took additional time. Imaging specialists at Cornell and at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., calibrated the color and assembled the image. Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, successfully completed three-month primary missions a year ago.  In extended missions since then, they have been exploring at increasing distances from their landing sites. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Spirit's "Lookout" panorama is also available online at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html [ http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html ]and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] .
A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus
title A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus
date 11.23.2005
description This false-color view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652 through 663 Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of Erebus Crater. The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
Size Comparison, Mars Scienc …
title Size Comparison, Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rover
description An artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (left) serves to compare it with Spirit, one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers. Mars Science Laboratory is in development for a launch opportunity in 2009, a landing on Mars in 2010 and investigation of that planet's past or present ability to sustain microbial life. The images of Spirit and the more advanced rover are both superimposed by special effects on a scene from Mars'"Columbia Hills," photographed by Spirit's panoramic camera on April 13, 2005, and presented here in false color (see Next Stop: Methuselah [PIA07855]). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA Space Observatories Gli …
Title NASA Space Observatories Glimpse Faint Afterglow of Nearby Stellar Explosion
General Information What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]
Mars Kicks Up the Dust as it …
Title Mars Kicks Up the Dust as it Makes Closest Approach to Earth
General Information What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped this picture of Mars on October 28, within a day of its closest approach to Earth on the night of October 29. The large regional dust storm appears as the brighter, redder cloudy region in the middle of the planet's disk. This storm, which measures 930 miles (1500 km) has been churning in the planet's equatorial regions for several weeks now, and it is likely responsible for the reddish, dusty haze and other dust clouds seen across this hemisphere of the planet. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys High Resolution Imager took this image when the red planet was 43 million miles (69 million km) from Earth. Mars won't be this close again to Earth until 2018. Mars is now in its warmest months, closest to the Sun in its orbit, resulting in a smaller than normal south polar ice cap which has largely sublimated with the approaching summer.
Mars Kicks Up the Dust as it …
Title Mars Kicks Up the Dust as it Makes Closest Approach to Earth
General Information What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped this picture of Mars on October 28, within a day of its closest approach to Earth on the night of October 29. The large regional dust storm appears as the brighter, redder cloudy region in the middle of the planet's disk. This storm, which measures 930 miles (1500 km) has been churning in the planet's equatorial regions for several weeks now, and it is likely responsible for the reddish, dusty haze and other dust clouds seen across this hemisphere of the planet. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys High Resolution Imager took this image when the red planet was 43 million miles (69 million km) from Earth. Mars won't be this close again to Earth until 2018. Mars is now in its warmest months, closest to the Sun in its orbit, resulting in a smaller than normal south polar ice cap which has largely sublimated with the approaching summer.
STScI Appoints New Mission H …
Title STScI Appoints New Mission Head for the James Webb Space Telescope
General Information What is a News Nugget? News Nuggets are bulletins from the world of astronomy. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has appointed Dr. Kathryn Flanagan as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mission Head. Dr. Flanagan will be responsible for the development and operations of the JWST Science and Operations Center at the STScI. The largest space observatory ever developed, the JWST is scheduled for launch in June 2013.
Attacking Mars
Title Attacking Mars
Explanation The Spirit rover [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/ ] attacked Mars again in 2005 September. What might look, above, like a military attack, though, was once again just a scientific one - Spirit was instructed to closely inspect some interesting rocks near the summit of Husband Hill [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060703.html ]. Spirit's Panoramic Camera [ http://pancam.astro.cornell.edu/pancam_instrument/projects_2.html ] captured the rover's Instrument Deployment Device above as moved to get a closer look at an outcrop of rocks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991030.html ] named Hillary [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Edmund_Hillary ]. The Spirit rover [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061206.html ], and its twin rover Opportunity [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051214.html ], have now been exploring the red planet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] for over three years [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20061228a.html ]. Both Spirit and Opportunity have found evidence that parts of Mars were once wet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040310.html ].
Description Browse Image | Medium Image (129 kB) | Large (20.4 MB) Hi-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal) [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08813 ]
Seasonal Trend in Water Vapo …
PIA07102
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Spectromete …
Title Seasonal Trend in Water Vapor Seen from Orbit
Original Caption Released with Image The seasonal trend in the amount of water vapor in Mars' atmosphere, as observed by thermal emission spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, varies by latitude. This plot starts near the beginning of fall in the southern hemisphere for the year before the Mars Exploration Rover mission began and ends on August 30, 2004, slightly more than one martian year later. Purple represents no water while red represents about 50 precipitable micrometers, which is about 10,000 times less than on Earth. The units of time along the horizontal axis are given in longitude of the Sun (Ls) as measured in a Mars-centered coordinate system, a way to reflect the elliptical nature of Mars' orbit. On this scale, Mars is farthest from the Sun at about 74, which also corresponds to late fall in the southern hemisphere. During the period when Mars is farthest from the Sun, the migration of water vapor from the northern polar region combines with lowered atmospheric temperatures to produce conditions that allow formation of clouds such as seen in the image at PIA07105 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07105 ]. Opportunity is further north than Spirit is, so there is a distinct difference in the amount of water vapor available to form water-ice clouds over the two sites. To date, Spirit has not seen any discrete, cirrus-like clouds such as Opportunity has photographed. Although water vapor is expected to reach a maximum abundance for the Opportunity and Spirit sites near spring equinox (Ls 180 or about March 2005), the atmospheric temperatures will very likely have warmed sufficiently to prevent formation of the type of clouds that Opportunity has observed recently.
The Road to Tempel (Artist's …
PIA02106
Sol (our sun)
Title The Road to Tempel (Artist's Concept)
Original Caption Released with Image "" Quick Time Movie for PIA02106 The Road to Tempel This animation chronicles the travels of NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, from its launch in January of 2005 to its dramatic impact 172 days later with comet Tempel 1. The times listed below were updated on July 2, 2005, and differ from those referred to in the animation. The final phase of the mission, called the encounter phase, includes two targeting maneuvers, the last of which occurs at 5:07 p.m. Pacific time (8:07 p.m. Eastern time), July 2. Six hours later, the spacecraft releases an impactor into the path of the charging comet. Twelve minutes later, the remaining craft, called the flyby, steers itself away from the comet's path. The free impactor then autonomously fine-tunes its trajectory, with the goal of hitting the sunlit side of Tempel 1. Impact is scheduled to occur at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time, July 3 (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 4). The flyby spacecraft will watch the collision from the sidelines, snapping pictures up to 13 minutes after impact. At that point, the craft stops taking images and enters a protective mode, in which its shields block dust from the comet's inner coma. Fifty-nine minutes after impact, the flyby turns around for one last photo opportunity.
Light-toned Rocks
PIA03589
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Light-toned Rocks
Original Caption Released with Image 23 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned rock outcrops in northeastern Sinus Meridiani. The entire northern Sinus Meridiani region has vast exposures of light-toned, layered rock, covering an area many times greater than that of all the famous sandstone, limestone, and shale outcrops of northern Arizona and southeastern Utah. The rocks in this image are probably similar to those explored by the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, but probably are of a different age and position in the region's geologic history. MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey THEMIS images were recently used to describe the complex geology of the Sinus Meridiani region, as detailed in the open access "Mars [ http://www.marsjournal.org/ ]" journal article, "The sedimentary rocks of Sinus Meridiani: Five key observations from data acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters," by Malin Space Science Systems' K. S. Edgett. The paper is available at: doi:10.1555/mars.2005.0002 [ http://dx.doi.org/10.1555/mars.2005.0002 ]. "Location near": 0.3°S, 356.0°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Summer
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
Meridiani Crater
PIA04197
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Meridiani Crater
Original Caption Released with Image 31 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a crater formed in light-toned, layered, sedimentary rocks in Meridiani Planum. This crater is located approximately 55 kilometers (~34 miles) southwest of the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, site. Erosion of sedimentary rock layers around the crater rim has caused an uneven retreat, resulting in the formation of U-shaped alcoves where undermining and collapse have occurred. Dark material in this scene is probably sand and granules, similar to the dark surfaces explored by the Opportunity rover. "Location near": 3.1°S, 5.8°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Spring
Sediments of Terby
PIA04259
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Sediments of Terby
Original Caption Released with Image 4 September 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rocks exposed by erosion in Terby Crater, located on the north rim of the Hellas Basin. Sedimentary rocks are common on Mars, the light tone of the rocks here suggests that they might bear some similarity to the sedimentary rocks of Meridiani Planum, explored by the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity. Water was likely involved in the alteration of the rocks, and perhaps in their deposition as sediments, long ago. "Location near": 27.9°S, 285.6°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring
Celebrating 8 Years at Mars: …
PIA05079
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Celebrating 8 Years at Mars: Repeated Weather Events
Original Caption Released with Image 12 September 2005 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) entered Mars orbit on 12 September 1997. Today, we celebrate the MGS's 8th anniversary! The 8 Earth years that MGS has been in orbit span portions of 5 martian years. One of the critical science activities that the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been engaged in for the past 8 years has been to document daily changes in the martian weather. Each day that MOC is operating, the red and blue wide angle cameras are used to build up a daily global map. These maps provide a record of the planet's changing meteorological conditions. One of the most exciting observations that the MOC wide angle cameras have made during these 8 years is that the red planet has very repeatable weather patterns. In light of weather-related problems and disruptions that occur every year on Earth, one can only imagine how nice it would be if our planet followed a similar, repeated pattern. The four pictures shown here provide an example of one of the weather phenomena that repeat each martian year. Each picture shows the north polar region of Mars during the northern summer season. Each picture is a composite of several images acquired at different visible wavelengths to give a color view of the planet. Each picture was taken about 1 Mars year apart, and each shows an annular (circular) cloud located over the same terrain each summer. The first picture, acquired in April 1999, is actually not from the MGS MOC instrument. It was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and was originally released by the Space Telescope Science Institute on 19 May 1999. The reason there is no MOC image for April 1999 is a product of the MGS spacecraft's 8-year history at Mars. MGS was certainly in orbit at the time, and it was taking data during the month of April. However, the camera did not obtain any images between 17 and 28 April because the spacecraft encountered, and then had to be recovered from, a problem. It was at this time that the spacecraft team realized that there is something obstructing the full movement of MGS's high gain antenna. A work-around was created and the mission has continued, ever since, but the down-side was that MOC did not have the opportunity in 1999 to provide detailed observations of the north polar, summertime, annular cloud. The remaining three pictures show MGS MOC views of the cloud feature, as it appeared in the subsequent 3 Mars years. Each year, the cloud appeared at about the same time or slightly earlier than in the previous year. Despite its superficial resemblance to a hurricane or cyclone on Earth, the northern summer annular cloud does not rotate. The cloud forms as different currents of air merge in the morning hours in the polar region, by afternoon, the annular cloud typically dissipates or breaks up into smaller clouds. MGS MOC has observed other repeated phenomena over the course of its 8-year mission orbiting Mars. These include dust storms that, repeat, year after year, in the same location within a week or two of the time it occurred in the previous year. They also include dust devils in northern Amazonis, which start up shortly after the first day of spring, and keep occurring nearly every afternoon until a few days into the autumn season. MOC is continuing its mission to monitor the planet -- in 2006, MOC's weather observations will be used to provide guidance for the aerobraking maneuvers of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). MOC images will show whether dust storms are occurring, and whether the dust suspended by these storms will impact the density of the atmosphere at the altitudes that MRO is passing through to slow the spacecraft and change its orbit to the one desired for the MRO primary mission. "Location near": 90°N "Season": Northern Summer
Meridiani Rocks
PIA06078
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Meridiani Rocks
Original Caption Released with Image 16 September 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the complex surfaces of some of the light- and intermediate-toned sedimentary rock exposed by erosion in eastern Sinus Meridiani. Similar rocks occur at the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, site, but they are largely covered by windblown sand and granules. The dark feature with a rayed pattern is the product of a meteor impact. "Location near": 0.8°N, 355.2°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn
Earth as Seen from Mars
PIA07228
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Earth as Seen from Mars
Original Caption Released with Image On its 449th martian day, or sol (April 29, 2005), NASA's Mars rover Opportunity woke up approximately an hour after sunset and took this picture of the fading twilight as the stars began to come out. Set against the fading red glow of the sky, the pale dot near the center of the picture is not a star, but a planet -- Earth. Earth appears elongated because it moved slightly during the 15-second exposures. The faintly blue light from the Earth combines with the reddish sky glow to give the pale white appearance. The images were taken with Opportunity's panoramic camera, using 440-nanometer, 530-nanometer, and 750-nanometer color filters. In processing on the ground, the images were shifted slightly to compensate for Earth's motion between one image and the next.
Looking Closely at 'Yuri'
PIA07480
Sol (our sun)
Microscopic Imager
Title Looking Closely at 'Yuri'
Original Caption Released with Image This picture from the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is a mosaic of a target called "Gagarin" on a rock referred to as "Yuri." Opportunity brushed the target with the rock abrasion tool during the rover's 401st martian day, or sol, (March 10, 2005) and then took the individual images that are combined into this mosaic. The rock abrasion tool ground into the same target on the following sol. The circle from which the tool's wire brush has scoured dust off the rock surface is about 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter. This rock is near the rim of "Vostok" crater. Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit Earth. The Russian cosmonaut's spacecraft was named Vostok NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS1.
Buttes near Meridiani
PIA07816
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Buttes near Meridiani
Original Caption Released with Image 3 April 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows buttes and two eroded impact craters on the plains west of Sinus Meridiani. The buttes and bedrock here are composed of light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock similar to the bedrock at the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, site. The layers can be seen in the walls of the two large, dark-floored craters. "Location near": 0.5°N, 8.0°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Northern Summer
Meridiani Complexity
PIA07887
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Meridiani Complexity
Original Caption Released with Image 27 April 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a high resolution view of a surface composed almost entirely of eroded, exposed sedimentary rock in the Sinus Meridiani region of Mars. If one could vacuum up all of the dark sand and dust that covers the rocks at the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, site, one might find a surface similar to that shown here. Note, just right of center, the occurrence of a circular feature. This is the site of a filled and buried meteor impact crater. Filled and buried craters are common among the sedimentary rocks of the Meridiani region. "Location near": 1.5°N, 359.4°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Northern Summer
Opportunity's Sol 446 Positi …
PIA07922
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity's Sol 446 Position, with Relative Heights
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1: Coding for Information About Relative Elevations This mosaic of navigation-camera frames from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, presented in a vertical projection, shows the rover's position after it dug itself to wheel-hub depth in a small dune during its 446th martian day, or sol (April 26, 2005). In figure 1, the colors are coding for information about relative elevations in the surrounding area. Red areas are the highest in the image, green areas the lowest. The difference between red and green is about 70 centimeters (28 inches). The elongated dune, or ripple, is about one-third of a meter (one foot) tall and 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide. Opportunity had completed nearly 40 meters (131 feet) of a planned 90-meter (295-foot) drive that sol when its wheels began slipping. The rover was driving backwards at the time. The rover team frequently alternates between backwards and forwards driving to keep wheel lubrication well distributed. The wheels kept rotating enough times to have covered the rest of the distance if they hadn't been slipping, but the rover eventually barely inched forward. After a turn at the end of the planned drive, Opportunity sensed that it had not turned properly and stopped moving. The rover team spent more than a week designing and conducting tests under simulated Mars conditions on Earth before choosing the best way for Opportunity to drive out of the dune.
Opportunity's Sol 446 Positi …
PIA07922
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity's Sol 446 Position, with Relative Heights
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1: Coding for Information About Relative Elevations This mosaic of navigation-camera frames from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, presented in a vertical projection, shows the rover's position after it dug itself to wheel-hub depth in a small dune during its 446th martian day, or sol (April 26, 2005). In figure 1, the colors are coding for information about relative elevations in the surrounding area. Red areas are the highest in the image, green areas the lowest. The difference between red and green is about 70 centimeters (28 inches). The elongated dune, or ripple, is about one-third of a meter (one foot) tall and 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide. Opportunity had completed nearly 40 meters (131 feet) of a planned 90-meter (295-foot) drive that sol when its wheels began slipping. The rover was driving backwards at the time. The rover team frequently alternates between backwards and forwards driving to keep wheel lubrication well distributed. The wheels kept rotating enough times to have covered the rest of the distance if they hadn't been slipping, but the rover eventually barely inched forward. After a turn at the end of the planned drive, Opportunity sensed that it had not turned properly and stopped moving. The rover team spent more than a week designing and conducting tests under simulated Mars conditions on Earth before choosing the best way for Opportunity to drive out of the dune.
Aram Chaos Complexity
PIA07992
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Aram Chaos Complexity
Original Caption Released with Image 26 May 2005 This picture is a mosaic of two Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images of sedimentary rock outcrops in Aram Chaos, near Ares Vallis, Mars. Aram Chaos is an impact crater that was nearly completely filled with material, some of which is light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock. The MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer team detected crystalline hematite in Aram Chaos, attesting to its potential similarity to some of the rocks in Meridiani Planum, where the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, has been operating. During April 2005, an opportunity arose to acquire a MOC narrow angle camera image that would mosaic with a previous picture, R11-02268. The figure shown here is a mosaic of that earlier image, obtained in November 2003, and the newer picture, from April 2005. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the right, and north is toward the bottom. A steep slope is seen near the top of the image. It formed in light-toned sedimentary rock, and it has shed debris to form a suite of darker-toned talus deposits. These deposits are the products of dry mass movement, the darker tone of the debris might be an indication that the material is less weathered or coarse-grained. Evident below the scarp are several light-toned yardangs, sculpted by wind. Erosion of the yardang-forming material, interpreted to be sedimentary rock, has revealed dark-toned blocks, separated by troughs. The blocks pre-date the deposition of the yardang-forming material. The presence of these broken-up blocks suggests that a chaotic terrain pattern formed in Aram>text missing position of material that later became the light-toned, sedimentary rock. The geologic history recorded in Aram Chaos is no less complex than has been observed by MOC in other large craters, such as Gale [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/dec00_seds/gale/ ].
Opportunity View on Sol 397 …
PIA07463
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 397 (vertical)
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 397th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 6, 2005). Opportunity had completed a drive of 124 meters (407 feet) across the rippled flatland of the Meridiani Planum region on the previous sol, but did not drive on this sol. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 48. The view is presented here as a vertical projection with geometric and brightness seam correction.
Opportunity View on Sol 398 …
PIA07465
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 398 (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 398th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 7, 2005). Opportunity drove 95 meters (312 feet) toward "Vostok Crater" that sol before taking the images. The drive was done in four steps: three "blind-drive" segments followed by a segment using the rover's autonomous navigation. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 49. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Opportunity View on Sol 398 …
PIA07465
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 398 (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 398th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 7, 2005). Opportunity drove 95 meters (312 feet) toward "Vostok Crater" that sol before taking the images. The drive was done in four steps: three "blind-drive" segments followed by a segment using the rover's autonomous navigation. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 49. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Opportunity View on Sol 398 …
PIA07465
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 398 (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 398th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 7, 2005). Opportunity drove 95 meters (312 feet) toward "Vostok Crater" that sol before taking the images. The drive was done in four steps: three "blind-drive" segments followed by a segment using the rover's autonomous navigation. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 49. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Beside 'Vostok Crater' (3D)
PIA07469
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Beside 'Vostok Crater' (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 399th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 8, 2005). Opportunity drove 35 meters (115 feet) that sol and reached the edge of "Vostok Crater" before taking the images. Sand has buried much of the crater. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 50. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Two angular marks in the right half of the image are artifacts of image-compression data loss. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Beside 'Vostok Crater' (3D)
PIA07469
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Beside 'Vostok Crater' (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 399th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 8, 2005). Opportunity drove 35 meters (115 feet) that sol and reached the edge of "Vostok Crater" before taking the images. Sand has buried much of the crater. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 50. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Two angular marks in the right half of the image are artifacts of image-compression data loss. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Beside 'Vostok Crater' (3D)
PIA07469
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Beside 'Vostok Crater' (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 399th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 8, 2005). Opportunity drove 35 meters (115 feet) that sol and reached the edge of "Vostok Crater" before taking the images. Sand has buried much of the crater. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 50. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Two angular marks in the right half of the image are artifacts of image-compression data loss. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Opportunity View on Sol 397 …
PIA07461
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 397 (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 397th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 6, 2005). Opportunity had completed a drive of 124 meters (407 feet) across the rippled flatland of the Meridiani Planum region on the previous sol, but did not drive on this sol. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 48. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Opportunity View on Sol 397 …
PIA07461
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 397 (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 397th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 6, 2005). Opportunity had completed a drive of 124 meters (407 feet) across the rippled flatland of the Meridiani Planum region on the previous sol, but did not drive on this sol. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 48. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Opportunity View on Sol 397 …
PIA07461
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Opportunity View on Sol 397 (3D)
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 Figure 2 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 397th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 6, 2005). Opportunity had completed a drive of 124 meters (407 feet) across the rippled flatland of the Meridiani Planum region on the previous sol, but did not drive on this sol. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 48. This three-dimensional view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction. Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair.
Slow Progress in Dune (Right …
PIA07985
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-Identification Camera
Title Slow Progress in Dune (Right Rear Wheel)
Original Caption Released with Image The right rear wheel of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity makes slow but steady progress through soft dune material in this movie clip of frames taken by the rover's rear hazard identification camera over a period of several days. The wheel is largely hidden by a cable bundle. The sequence starts on Opportunity's 460th martian day, or sol (May 10, 2005) and ends 11 days later. In eight drives during that period, Opportunity advanced a total of 26 centimeters (10 inches) while spinning its wheels enough to have driven 46 meters (151 feet) if there were no slippage. The motion appears to speed up near the end of the clip, but that is an artifact of individual frames being taken less frequently.
Slow Progress in Dune (Right …
PIA07984
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-Identification Camera
Title Slow Progress in Dune (Right Front Wheel)
Original Caption Released with Image The right front wheel of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity makes slow but steady progress through soft dune material in this movie clip of frames taken by the rover's front hazard identification camera over a period of several days. The sequence starts on Opportunity's 460th martian day, or sol (May 10, 2005) and ends 11 days later. In eight drives during that period, Opportunity advanced a total of 26 centimeters (10 inches) while spinning its wheels enough to have driven 46 meters (151 feet) if there were no slippage. The motion appears to speed up near the end of the clip, but that is an artifact of individual frames being taken less frequently.
Slow Progress in Dune (Left …
PIA07983
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-Identification Camera
Title Slow Progress in Dune (Left Front Wheel)
Original Caption Released with Image The left front wheel of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity makes slow but steady progress through soft dune material in this movie clip of frames taken by the rover's front hazard identification camera over a period of several days. The sequence starts on Opportunity's 460th martian day, or sol (May 10, 2005) and ends 11 days later. In eight drives during that period, Opportunity advanced a total of 26 centimeters (10 inches) while spinning its wheels enough to have driven 46 meters (151 feet) if there were no slippage. The motion appears to speed up near the end of the clip, but that is an artifact of individual frames being taken less frequently.
Slow Progress in Dune (Left …
PIA07986
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-Identification Camera
Title Slow Progress in Dune (Left Rear Wheel)
Original Caption Released with Image The left rear wheel of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity makes slow but steady progress through soft dune material in this movie clip of frames taken by the rover's rear hazard identification camera over a period of several days. The sequence starts on Opportunity's 460th martian day, or sol (May 10, 2005) and ends 11 days later. In eight drives during that period, Opportunity advanced a total of 26 centimeters (10 inches) while spinning its wheels enough to have driven 46 meters (151 feet) if there were no slippage. The motion appears to speed up near the end of the clip, but that is an artifact of individual frames being taken less frequently.
Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' …
PIA07216
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' Panorama
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' Panorama (QTVR) This panoramic image, dubbed "Rub al Khali," was acquired by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the plains of Meridiani during the period from the rover's 456th to 464th sols on Mars (May 6 to May 14, 2005). Opportunity was about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) south of "Endurance Crater" at a place known informally as "Purgatory Dune." The rover was stuck in the dune's deep fine sand for more than a month. "Rub al Khali" (Arabic translation: "the empty quarter") was chosen as the name for this panorama because it is the name of a similarly barren, desolate part of the Saudi Arabian desert on Earth. The view spans 360 degrees. It consists of images obtained in 97 individual pointings of the panoramic camera. The camera took images with five camera filters at each pointing. This 22,780-by-6,000-pixel mosaic is an approximately true-color rendering generated using the images acquired through filters admitting light wavelengths of 750, 530, and 480 nanometers. Lighting varied during the nine sols it took to acquire this panorama, resulting in some small image seams within the mosaic. These seams have been smoothed in sky parts of the mosaic to better simulate the vista that a person would see if able to view it all at the same time on Mars. Opportunity's tracks leading back to the north (center of the panorama) are a reminder of the rover's long trek from Endurance Crater. The deep ruts dug by Opportunity's wheels as it became stuck in the sand appear in the foreground. The crest and trough of the last ripple the rover crossed before getting stuck is visible in the center. These wind-formed sand features are only about 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) tall. The crest of the actual ripple where the rover got stuck can be seen just to the right of center. The tracks and a few other places on and near ripple crests can be seen in this color image to be dustier than the undisturbed or "normal" plains soils in Meridiani. Since the time these ruts were made, some of the dust there has been blown away by the wind, reaffirming the dynamic nature of the martian environment, even in this barren, ocean-like desert of sand.
Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' …
PIA07216
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' Panorama
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' Panorama (QTVR) This panoramic image, dubbed "Rub al Khali," was acquired by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the plains of Meridiani during the period from the rover's 456th to 464th sols on Mars (May 6 to May 14, 2005). Opportunity was about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) south of "Endurance Crater" at a place known informally as "Purgatory Dune." The rover was stuck in the dune's deep fine sand for more than a month. "Rub al Khali" (Arabic translation: "the empty quarter") was chosen as the name for this panorama because it is the name of a similarly barren, desolate part of the Saudi Arabian desert on Earth. The view spans 360 degrees. It consists of images obtained in 97 individual pointings of the panoramic camera. The camera took images with five camera filters at each pointing. This 22,780-by-6,000-pixel mosaic is an approximately true-color rendering generated using the images acquired through filters admitting light wavelengths of 750, 530, and 480 nanometers. Lighting varied during the nine sols it took to acquire this panorama, resulting in some small image seams within the mosaic. These seams have been smoothed in sky parts of the mosaic to better simulate the vista that a person would see if able to view it all at the same time on Mars. Opportunity's tracks leading back to the north (center of the panorama) are a reminder of the rover's long trek from Endurance Crater. The deep ruts dug by Opportunity's wheels as it became stuck in the sand appear in the foreground. The crest and trough of the last ripple the rover crossed before getting stuck is visible in the center. These wind-formed sand features are only about 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) tall. The crest of the actual ripple where the rover got stuck can be seen just to the right of center. The tracks and a few other places on and near ripple crests can be seen in this color image to be dustier than the undisturbed or "normal" plains soils in Meridiani. Since the time these ruts were made, some of the dust there has been blown away by the wind, reaffirming the dynamic nature of the martian environment, even in this barren, ocean-like desert of sand.
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