Pictures From the Surface of.........

[3488]

Wow brellis that is cool.<br /><br />Do you have a link to the article & images?<br /><br />This will be a boon for the upcoming MESSENGER mission, as mission planners could hone in<br />to other interesting features.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

hi Andrew<br />here's the abstract<br />highlights:<br />ore than 60,000 images of Mercury were taken at ~29 deg elevation during two sunrises, at 820 nm, and through a 1.35 m diameter off-axis aperture on the SOAR telescope. The sharpest resolve 0.2" (140 km) and cover 190-300 deg longitude -- a swath unseen by the Mariner 10 spacecraft -- at complementary phase angles to previous ground-based optical imagery. Our view is comparable to that of the Moon through weak binoculars. Evident are the large crater Mozart shadowed on the terminator, fresh rayed craters, and other albedo features keyed to topography and radar reflectivity, including the putative huge ``Basin S'' on the limb. Classical bright feature Liguria resolves across the northwest boundary of the Caloris basin into a bright splotch centered on a sharp, 20 km diameter radar crater, and is the brightest feature within a prominent darker ``cap'' (Hermean feature Solitudo Phoenicis) that covers much of the northern hemisphere between longitudes 80-250 deg. The cap may result from space weathering that darkens via a magnetically enhanced flux of the solar wind, or that reddens low latitudes via high solar insolation.<br />here's the UNC-Chapel Hill site where I got the pic <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[3488]

Thank you very much brellis.<br /><br />This is a most fascinating development.<br /><br />Mercury, you can run but cannot hide for ever. First Mariner 10, now this & then MESSENGER.<br /><br />Your secrets are busted!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />140 KM reso. Not bad, considering how far away Mercury was. <br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[chode]

brellis, that pic you posted is actually a Mariner pic, not from SOAR. The article you linked did not properly attribute it.<br /><br />140km resolution is pretty good from Earth, and it should help the Messenger effort, but that picture is somewhat misleading.<br /><br />Regards

 

[JonClarke]

That's amazing! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

I thought that was too good for an image from earth but did not say anything.<br />My bad, for keeping my mouth shut. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

hi <b><font color="orange">Chode</font></b> Welcome to SDC! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><font color="yellow">brellis, that pic you posted is actually a Mariner pic, not from SOAR. The article you linked did not properly attribute it. </font><br /><br />ahh, the dangers of the 3 minute google grab. apologies! <br />When I look at the image with Mariner in mind, I can almost instinctively see it in both the resolution and the - for lack of a better term - <i>analog</i> quality of the print that was later digitized. <br /><br />I enjoy knowing the feel that technology from different generations gives you.<br />Images, Film/video, sound recording and their various methods of mass reproduction from the past carry our memories of when that technology was new. <br />In that regard, I should have listened to my gut, because my gut tells me its an older picture from much closer to the surface of Mercury than earth is.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

I'm going to try and post this, if it's too wide I'll delete it, but may be OK for this thread APOD link <br /><br />"Explanation: What causes the black dots on dunes on Mars? As spring dawned on the Northern Hemisphere of Mars in 2004, dunes of sand near the poles begin to defrost. Thinner regions of ice typically thaw first revealing sand whose darkness soaks in sunlight and accelerates the thaw. The process might involve sandy jets exploding through the thinning ice. By summer, the spots expanded to encompass the entire dunes that were then completely thawed and dark. The carbon dioxide and water ice actually sublime in the thin atmosphere directly to gas. Taken in mid-July, the above image shows a field of spotted polar dunes spanning about 3 kilometers near the Martian North Pole. Today, the future of Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity remains unknown windy dust storms continue to starve them of needed sunlight. "<br /><br />Rats, too big a file.<br /><br />Trust me, click on the link.<br /><br />It's amazing!!<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

I made the image a little smaller. it's really cool <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Thanx!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

*bumping this thread* - for two reasons. One, it's really interesting, and two, check out these pics from a symposium on solar system exploration<br /><br />I know it's only indirectly related to the OT. Is there a "Pics of spacecraft" thread? Once we get pics back up, it'd be nice to have a collection of pics of past, present and future rovers and landers. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>