Starship Asterisk*

Greeley Panorama on Mars

Explanation: What did you do over your winter vacation? If you were the Opportunity rover on Mars, you spent four months of it stationary and perched on the northern slope of Greeley Haven -- and tilted so that your solar panels could absorb as much sunlight as possible. During its winter stopover, the usually rolling robot undertook several science activities including snapping over 800 images of its surroundings, many of which have been combined into this 360-degree digitally-compressed panorama and shown in exaggerated colors to highlight different surface features. Past tracks of Opportunity can be seen toward the left, while Opportunity's dust covered solar panels cross the image bottom. Just below the horizon and right of center, an interior wall of 20-kilometer Endeavour Crater can be seen. Now that the northern Martian winter is over, Opportunity is rolling again, this time straight ahead (north). The rover is set to investigate unusual light-colored soil patches as it begins again to further explore the inside of Endeavour, a crater that may hold some of the oldest features yet visited.

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A great APOD, especially the click-through version. It's good to get back to Mars.

That's an extraordinary picture.

I hope the rover crews (and the rovers!) some day get a Nobel prize for their work.

Rob

Wow! Nice.

Roll on little probe.
May your wheels never fail you.
Secrets yet to find.

Lordcat Darkstar wrote:
Roll on little probe.
May your wheels never fail you.

• Why do dogs chase their tails?

This picture on Mars, shows how landscape erosion begins on steep slopes.

hello,

On the hi-res version, anyone notice the perfectly circular, plate like object, just to the left of the SUNDIAL, half buried in the Martian dirt? It seems to have some raised lettering on it. NOw the letters could be anything, but it IS almost perfectly round & quite different than theother rocks or clumps in this view...just wondering if anyone else sees this?

On the hi-res version, anyone notice the perfectly circular, plate like object, just to the left of the SUNDIAL, half buried in the Martian dirt?

Here's a blowup of the area in question...
To me it looks like a rock, period. But it is an interesting rock and if a human were there they might well have a closer look at it. I wonder if Opportunity took any close-up shots of it?

Rob

There appears to be another in the same area. 30deg diagonal, above and left in the full size version, above the other edge of the solar panel wing

They remind me a little of these Stromatolites in Shark Bay

On the hi-res version, anyone notice the perfectly circular, plate like object,
just to the left of the SUNDIAL, half buried in the Martian dirt?

Here's a blowup of the area in question...



To me it looks like a mome rath's butt, period.

But it is an interesting mome rath's butt and
if a human were there they might well have a closer look at it.

I wonder if Opportunity took any close-up shots of it?

Thanks, you guys! If it is a Stromatolite... We found a ...fossil? Interesting...I presume y'all do know what a stromatolite is??? I just followed the links & learned they contain some of the earliest of the Fossil Record here on Earth... but, they all seem to contain: fossils.

dillardweld wrote:
On the hi-res version, anyone notice the perfectly circular, plate like object, just to the left of the SUNDIAL, half buried in the Martian dirt? It seems to have some raised lettering on it. NOw the letters could be anything, but it IS almost perfectly round & quite different than theother rocks or clumps in this view...just wondering if anyone else sees this?

here is a 5.9mb hi-res image of the anomolous rock in different lighting conditions Hi-res image link (large file)