See new, spectacular, or mysterious sky images.
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bystander
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by bystander » Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:55 pm
Alfred McEwen wrote:A Crater Exposing Diverse Compositions (ESP_030079_1550) (video)
This image covers a well-preserved (relatively young) impact crater about 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide. The
enhanced-color sample shows that the north-facing slope (on the south side of the crater) has a blue-green color but the south-facing slope has a yellowish color.
The blue-green (infrared-shifted) colors indicate minerals like olivine and pyroxene, common in lava or subsurface intrusions of magma. The yellowish color is typical of hydrous alteration or dust. This crater likely exposed diverse lithologies (rock types) that were present before the crater formed.
This is a stereo pair with
ESP_030290_1550.
Ross A. Beyer wrote:MSL Curiosity on Sol 157 in Color (ESP_030313_1755) (video)
This HiRISE observation was performed in conjunction with a CRISM observation so that they could get good spectral data on the scour zone created by the MSL descent rockets.
Our higher resolution HiRISE image will allow the CRISM team to compare their data with ours. The scour zone is where
MSL touched down. The pair of bright white spots in the HiRISE image show the area immediately below where sky crane's rockets were pointed. Those areas were "blasted clean" and therefore show brightest. The larger dark scour zone is dark because the fine dust has been blown away from the area leaving darker materials.
However,
we also captured Curiosity on its 157th Sol as it was exploring Yellowknife Bay and about to drill its first rock.
This is the first time that we've captured the rover tracks in color, and they show up as a pair of dark lines moving across the landscape.
Note: the above image is non map-projected, so approximate north is down.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
<< Previous HiRISE Update
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk. — Garrison Keillor
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owlice
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by owlice » Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:49 am
WOW!!
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
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MargaritaMc
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by MargaritaMc » Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:15 pm
owlice wrote:WOW!!
Mega-WOW... Oh, those little lonely tracks...
M
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS
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geckzilla
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Contact:
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by geckzilla » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:19 pm
Good thing robotic laboratories aren't prone to depression or loneliness.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.
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MargaritaMc
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by MargaritaMc » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:46 pm
geckzilla wrote:Good thing robotic laboratories aren't prone to depression or loneliness.
Would that be part of a Turing test?
For all we know, poor dear little Curiosity is weeping quietly, feeling so alone and forsaken.
Like Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .
Margarita
(I've just thought - is my tablet PC running on a Paranoid Android? It would explain a lot about my techie issues!
)
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS
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bystander
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by bystander » Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:56 pm
Opportunity has been alone a lot longer, even lost a twin on Mars before Curiosity got there.
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk. — Garrison Keillor
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MargaritaMc
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by MargaritaMc » Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:22 pm
bystander wrote:Opportunity has been alone a lot longer, even lost a twin on Mars before Curiosity got there.
I'm sure that it is Curiosity's name that makes me anthropomorphise
him... Curiosity is such a
human attribute. 'Opportunity', 'Endeavour' and similar words are labels - but once something is called something so personal and friendly-sounding as 'Curiosity'... Well, it's en route to cuddly toy models and asking God to bless him in our prayers at night!
But I'm probably a hopeless case - all my cars and computers have had names and personalities...
Margarita
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS
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geckzilla
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by geckzilla » Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:04 am
An old one, but still good... Poor Spirit!
http://www.xkcd.com/695/
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.
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MargaritaMc
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by MargaritaMc » Sat Feb 09, 2013 8:51 am
Aaaah....
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS
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MargaritaMc
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by MargaritaMc » Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:30 am
Marvin, my paranoid Android tablet, is being fractious again, and is refusing to paste urls anywhere except at the beginning of my post. Which is why the quotes and attributions are laid out in this rather clunky manner.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_rover
http://news.discovery.com/space/remembe ... 130103.htm
JPL continued to attempt to regain contact until May 24, 2011, when NASA announced that efforts to communicate with the unresponsive rover had ended.[10][11][12] A formal farewell was planned at NASA.... and was televised on NASA TV
While Opportunity is showing some signs of its advanced age, such as an arthritic arm, the rover remains in good health and continues to return interesting data to its handlers back on Earth.
So I'm not the only anthropomorphical astronomer...
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS