APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

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APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by APOD Robot » Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:10 am

[img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_200126.jpg[/img] Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars

Explanation: Sometimes, even rovers on Mars stop to admire the scenery. Just late last November the Curiosity rover on Mars paused to photograph its impressive surroundings. One thing to admire, straight ahead, was Central Butte, an unusual flat hill studied by Curiosity just a few days before this image was taken. To its right was distant Mount Sharp, the five-kilometer central peak of entire Gale crater, the interior of which Curiosity is exploring. Mount Sharp, covered in sulfates, appears quite bright in this colorized, red-filtered image. To the far left, shrouded in a very dark shadow, was the south slope of Vera Rubin ridge, an elevation explored previously by Curiosity. Between the ridge and butte were tracks left by Curiosity's wheels as they rolled forward, out of the scene. In the image foreground is, of course, humanity's current eyes on Mars: the complex robotic rover Curiosity itself. Later this year, if all goes well, NASA will have another rover -- and more eyes -- on Mars. Today you can help determine the name of this rover yourself, but tomorrow is the last day to cast your vote.

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heehaw

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by heehaw » Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:02 am

What a hugely successful program has our Mars exploration been! Absolutely superb!

sillyworm 2

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by sillyworm 2 » Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:01 pm

This is a stunningly beautiful vista.

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Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by orin stepanek » Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:08 pm

I always love the discoveries that the rovers make! It looks;
like curiosity is actually driving on a road in todays photo! :yes: :wink:

HillsRidgesTracks_Curiosity_1080.jpg
HillsRidgesTracks_Curiosity_1080.jpg (33.8 KiB) Viewed 3562 times
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

sillyworm 2

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by sillyworm 2 » Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:16 pm

Actually thought of orin here..if you follow the Gale crater link and enlarge the picture..there is an interesting image of an art nouveau/art deco woman wearing an army helmet/hat in the southern light colored basin.

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Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by neufer » Sun Jan 26, 2020 4:54 pm

.
We'll all be moving there after the global warming apocalypse:
.
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
orin stepanek wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:08 pm
I always love the discoveries that the rovers make! It looks;
like curiosity is actually driving on a road in todays photo! :yes: :wink:

Art Neuendorffer

darera

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by darera » Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:36 pm

How does Curiosity keep itself so cleean? Not a speck of dust anywhere.

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neufer
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Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by neufer » Sun Jan 26, 2020 6:29 pm

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
darera wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:36 pm
How does Curiosity keep itself so cleean?
Not a speck of dust anywhere.
Art Neuendorffer

lefthip

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by lefthip » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:18 pm

What caught my attention today, more than the lovely Marsscape, was the machine itself, so intricate and, mechanically, beautiful. Imagine a vehicle that runs several years without maintenance or refueling, and in temperatures that range from +50C to -150c, and with very low carbon emissions. You guys at NASA should talk to GM. Oh!, the billion dollar price tag.
By the way, who uses that joystick on the lower left of the rover?

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neufer
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Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by neufer » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:36 pm

lefthip wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:18 pm
By the way, who uses that joystick on the lower left of the rover?
Gnomon that's born of woman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MarsDial wrote:

<<The MarsDial is a sundial that was devised for missions to Mars. It is used to calibrate the Pancam cameras of the Mars landers. MarsDials were placed on the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, inscribed with the words "Two worlds, One sun" and the word "Mars" in 22 languages. The MarsDial can function as a type of sun-dial known as a gnomon, in modern times this is the stick part of a sundial. A gnomon type sundial is basically a "stick in the ground" design, but by looking at the length and direction of the shadow the time of day can be calculated. The sundial can also be used to tell which way is North, and to overcome the limitations of a magnetic north different from a true north.

The sundial design team included Bill Nye "The Science Guy," space artist Jon Lomberg, and astronomers Woodruff Sullivan, Steve Squyres, James Bell and Tyler Nordgren. CAD design and drawings were done by Jason Suchman. The MarsDial was intended to be part science outreach, part calibration target.

Curiosity (MSL), the rover which landed on Mars in August 2012, used a spare sundial remaining from the Mars Exploration Rovers. It has a new text that reads "Mars 2012" and "To Mars To Explore".

The ball is the nodus, the post is the gnomon. The colors on the corners are for calibrating colors, and the inner circles are in greyscale. There is a mirrored section on the middle circle to reflect the sky.

The sundials are also "message artifacts"—something for future human explorers to find.>>
Art Neuendorffer

DL MARTIN

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by DL MARTIN » Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:52 pm

The index for placing a human on mars is when all mechanical means of exploration have been exhausted.

sillyworm 2

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by sillyworm 2 » Mon Jan 27, 2020 12:51 am

This view today seems remarkably....welcoming.Is it the/a filter that gives it such a warm sunny bright appealing atmosphere? For the first time ever I envisioned being stationed on Mars as a positive breathtaking experience.

darera

Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by darera » Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:56 pm

Like your cats neufer.
Now maybe someone will explain how Curiosity in over 11 (eleven) years on dusty, sandy Mars is so clean. Has it not come across any dust storm in 11 years? has it a cover? Would a vaccum cleaner work on Mars? Are the crazies right when they say this is all a cover-up? :lol2: :mrgreen:


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Re: APOD: Hills, Ridges, and Tracks on Mars (2020 Jan 26)

Post by rstevenson » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:55 pm

darera wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:36 pm How does Curiosity keep itself so cleean? Not a speck of dust anywhere.
The other end gets dirtier. Not sure why that end in today's pic stays so clean. Here's a pic from just about a month earlier showing the dirty end.

Rob
Curiosity selfie, Oct 2019.jpg

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