Martian Vistas - Latest comments

In response to: Opportunity - Sols 2311 - Drive Direction Mosaic

James [Member] — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 07:53:27 +0000

That 'huge rock' is a large hill on the far side of Endeavour crater about 30km away. The oval feature is a crater on the side of the hill. It can be seen quite clearly in orbital images.

In response to: Opportunity - Sols 2311 - Drive Direction Mosaic

Gerry Secher [Visitor] — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:42:38 +0000

I wonder if you've had a chance to study the oval-shaped feature on the side of the huge rock in the background?

In response to: Opportunity - Sols 2311 - Drive Direction Mosaic

James [Member] — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:37:23 +0000

Yeah, the colour of the sky often comes out blue in these R21 filter drive direction images as only red (R2) and blue (R1) filters are available. When the sky is clearer it becomes darker in the red channel and inevitably ends up looking blue in the image. I turned the saturation of the blue pixels down quite a lot to suppress it, but its still there. It isn't real, as other 'L' images with a proper green channel show a a much more pleasing mars-butterscotch colour.

In response to: Opportunity - Sols 2311 - Drive Direction Mosaic

TCs [Visitor] — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:06:47 +0000

I have to admit, that's a breathtaking view, even though I think the atmosphere would probably look a bit more butterscotch-colored, instead of a greenish gray.

In response to: Opportunity - Sols 2114 to 2125 - Drive Direction mosaics

James [Member] — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:44:56 +0000

That is a good question.

These 'drive direction' images are are taken using just two coloured filters one blue/violet and one far-red/near infrared. i.e. at the very ends of human visible spectrum. Making images with any accurate colours next to impossible. The blue colour is an artifact of this processing, it would not look blue in 'real life'

If you look at most of the other 'drive direction' images I have made recently you'll see that the sky normally comes out a more mars-like shade. Recent ones are much bluer as the atmosphere at Meridiani is currently relatively dust free, this has the effect of making the sky darker in the red/near IR filter. e.g.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/2122/1P316570626EFFA91SP2355R2M1.JPG

My processing software therefore sees the sky as much brighter in the blue/violet than the red/IR and falsely gives it a blue colour.

In response to: Opportunity - Sols 2114 to 2125 - Drive Direction mosaics

Eva [Visitor] — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:26:55 +0000

Hello, I found your blog very interesting and I was wondering what made the sky so blue on your pictures of Sol 2122, 2124 and 2125.

Thanks for your mosaics, it's always a pleasure "to travel" on Mars thanks to you.

In response to: Spirit - Bonestell Panorama - Colour Anaglyph - 80 pointings - L234567/R123 filters

gerald charlette [Visitor] — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:29:17 +0000

Husband and McCool hills are two of the seven principal hills in the Columbia Hills range within Gusev Crater. Home Plate is in the inner basin of the range. there is a nice picture of a unique rock formation just above the homeplate line and on the same side of the Fuzzy Smith rock it is inbetween the two points but on the border of the left side of the inner basin of the homeplate lol i left a link to my facebook photos i just been trying to study about the rockformation it looked unique to me any suggestions ? thank you for the time reading this post

In response to: Spirit - Sols 1910 to 1934 - Calypso 360 Degree Panorama

Ted [Visitor] — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:41:38 +0000

Wow! That is an incredible pan!