Bay of Toil Options

[Tesheiner]

Bay of Toil is on sight after sol 1055 drive.

http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportu...AZP0645L0M1.JPG

[Stu]

Now THIS looks like an interesting spot for a picnic...

Leaving aside the wisdom of poking Fate in the eye with a big sharp stick by naming a crumbling crater rim bay "The Bay of Toil" ... ... here's a quick feature nickname suggestion that kinda jumped out at me...

[djellison]

What might make a very interesting target for a weekend (next weekend perhaps ) is what I've started calling the 'dock' of the Bay of Toil - just north of the bay a sort of 'echo' of the rim set back 10m or so. A few 10's of CM's of material.

Doug

[Tesheiner]

"The dock", I like this name.

I'm curious about that outcrop since two weeks ago. I was wondering if those are remnants of an upper rock layer or perhaps Cape Desire is "cracking" at that point and becoming a sort of "Soup Dragon" in a couple of hundred million years.

[Stu]

Wow...

[climber]

The dock", I like this name

A Bay, The dock, a week-end, a Picnic ?
Can we just Sit on the Dock of The Bay for the week-end?

Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
by Otis Redding/Steve Cropper... and some changes by Climber...

Sitting in the morning sun
I'll sitting till the evening comes
Watching Oppy roll in
Then I watch her roll away again, yeah.

Sitting on the dock of the bay
Watching the time roll away
Oh, sitting on the dock of the bay
Wasting time, ah ha ha

I left my home in California
And headed for Toil Bay
Coz I have nothing to live for
And look's like nothing will come my way

So, I'm sitting on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide go away
I'm sitting on the dock of the bay
Wasting time

Look's like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can do what people tell me to do
So, I guess I'll remains the same

Sitting here west in East born
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's 200 Millions miles I roll
Just to make this dock my home

Sitting on the dock of the bay
Watch the tide go away, ooohh ooohh
Sitting on the dock of the bay
Wasting time

[jvandriel]

Here is the Pancam L2 view of the Bay of Toil.

Taken on Sol 1055.

jvandriel

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Marz]

Now THIS looks like an interesting spot for a picnic...

Leaving aside the wisdom of poking Fate in the eye with a big sharp stick by naming a crumbling crater rim bay "The Bay of Toil" ... ... here's a quick feature nickname suggestion that kinda jumped out at me...

Stu, your posts are always such a joy to read! It looks like a great spot to picnic is the small escarpment of rock north of the Bay of Toil. Could it be a top layer of rock exposed by slumping, and therefore relatively unaltered and easily approached?

[ElkGroveDan]

Climber you are going to make Stu jealous.

[Stu]

Climber you are going to make Stu jealous.

Jealous? Hmmm, let's see... my prattling "stuff" vs Otis Reading's lyrics... only one winner there I think!

[Stu]

Like I said, nice place for a picnic...

[fredk]

Great new view today!

The slopes of Victoria are sure messy inside the N-NE rim. Here's a crop from the latest pancams showing more rolling boulder trails, and the corresponding region from a hirise image:

[alan]

There are a couple of streaks that appear to originate from a 'hole' in a large chunk of ejecta.

[Bob Shaw]

There are a couple of streaks that appear to originate from a 'hole' in a large chunk of ejecta.

Alan:

I don't see that, I see simply a dustfall beneath an overhang - look to the right and there are many similar overhangs. It's just a series of slightly less eroded lumps.


Bob Shaw

[MarkL]

Thanks for that comparison fredk. The chevron dunes (very dark in your top image) are interesting. I did not realize they would be on such strongly sloping ground. The material on the surface of these dunes seems to be the same stuff that has blown out of the crater into the dark plumes to the north and nne. (Some say underlying material that's been scraped off, I know)

[CosmicRocker]

Hehe, MarklL. It will be interesting to pass one of the dark streaks and hopefully see what the story is. For some of us, the removal of the ubiquitous bright dust seems to be the simplest explanation, but I will concede that the opposite has been observed. An interesting Martian location is El Dorado, on the other side of the planet, where dark, olivine-rich sediment has accumulated and later has been covered by the light dust...only to be exposed as dark again by local wind events.

Climber! I can't believe that I missed that association of words. I guess it took Doug to name the outcrop behind B3 as the dock. "Sitting on the dock of the bay..." That's so appropriate.

[MarsIsImportant]

There are a couple of streaks that appear to originate from a 'hole' in a large chunk of ejecta.

That dark spot appearing to be a hole (the one you labeled as such) is really part of a crack across that particular rock. The streaks below, however, do appear to originate with it. We need a much closer look to establish a good interpretation of it. I hope we can do so without endangering the rover.

I cannot help but think of the water flow streaks spotted by MGS on other crater slopes. Such an interpretation is premature, but I just cannot help thinking about it.

[climber]

Climber! I can't believe that I missed that association of words. I guess it took Doug to name the outcrop behind B3 as the dock. "Sitting on the dock of the bay..." That's so appropriate.

Thanks Cosmic...and with your permission Asto,
Here is the "Doug of the Bay"

[djellison]

Wahghg

I'm sat here wearing jeans and a shirt, looking at me in the same jeans and shirt, looking at Mars.

Wierd.

Doug

[marsbug]

While you're there do you think you could drop by home plate and give spirits solar panels a wipe?

[climber]

Wahghg
I'm sat here wearing jeans and a shirt, looking at me in the same jeans and shirt, looking at Mars.
Wierd.
Doug

You may want to visit there : http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...ic=3691&hl=
They've got nice T-shirt and other stuff...

[CosmicRocker]

Nice one, climber. Hehe, poor Doug, standing there dessicated and frozen in-place, trying to snap a pic of Cape Saint Mary to send back to the forum. Talk about dedication...

[kenny]

Thanks Cosmic...and with your permission Asto,
Here is the "Doug of the Bay"

That is brilliant ! Makes FredK look like a mere shadow..... Kenny

[Astro0]

It has been such a long time since a I last posted a message and even longer since I have done any SFX images of the Rovers or UMSF members on Mars.

We must be nearing the time for another BBQ. A nice beach (annulus) by a Bay somewhere or on an appropriate Cape perhaps?

Don't go crazy yet UMSF'ers. I think that an announcement in the Community Chat thread will appear soon.
Let me take a look around for a good location first.

Cheers
Astro0

[climber]

It has been such a long time since a I last posted a message and even longer since I have done any SFX images of the Rovers or UMSF members on Mars.
We must be nearing the time for another BBQ. A nice beach (annulus) by a Bay somewhere or on an appropriate Cape perhaps?
Don't go crazy yet UMSF'ers. I think that an announcement in the Community Chat thread will appear soon.
Let me take a look around for a good location first.
Cheers
Astro0

Good to hear about you again AstroO, may be my post of your work kinda wake you up
What about a Sitting on the duck of the Bay as the next one?

[Astro0]

Climber said: "...What about a Sitting on the duck of the Bay as the next one?"

OK. I couldn't let the "...duck of the Bay" typo-quote go by...there was no resisting the image it conjured up in my warped little mind.
File:135k

Enjoy
Astro0

[Tesheiner]

Fresh navcams from sol 1058 at the exploratorium: http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportu...cam/2007-01-15/

[edstrick]

What we need is a Burroughsian Green Martian, 4 arms and all, standing on the promontory... The riding-thoat and red martian slave girl is optional.

[Stu]

Loving this view as it opens up...

[Airbag]

Fresh navcams from sol 1058 at the exploratorium: http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportu...cam/2007-01-15/

That big layered rock at the bottom of the nearby cliff looks accessible to the IDD as the ground below it is not sloping as much as just upslope of it. Certainly no more "roll" slope there than Opportunity already encountered in Endurance crater. Of course, Opportunity would have to get there via some other bay I think and then climb back up to this point. All speculation of course.

Airbag.

PS Doug - you need buy some more clothes

[MarsIsImportant]

It looks like we possibly found a way OUT of Victory! Take a look and tell me what you think?

[diane]

If we go in through one bay and plan to come out through another, what's the sanity level for navigating around the base of the capes? Considering slope, sand, rock hazards, and so forth.

[jvandriel]

Here is the complete 360 degree panoramic view from Sol 1058.

Taken with the L0 Navcam.

jvandriel

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[climber]

That big layered rock at the bottom of the nearby cliff looks accessible to the IDD as the ground below it is not sloping as much as just upslope of it. Certainly no more "roll" slope there than Opportunity already encountered in Endurance crater. Of course, Opportunity would have to get there via some other bay I think and then climb back up to this point. All speculation of course.

The choice of the place to enter the crater could be dictated by what you point out here BUT anylising a fallen "rock" will only benefit if you know for sure where it come from. This is hard from where we are so, the option will be to get it anyway so you'll have more infos of where the rock come from by comparing the veiw from the outside with the view from the inside. Now, I wonder of the interest of anylising felt rock because you must have the same info on the way down throught a bay. Benefict could may be to compare the same layer within a Bay and within a Cape...

[Bob Shaw]

The choice of the place to enter the crater could be dictated by what you point out here BUT anylising a fallen "rock" will only benefit if you know for sure where it come from. This is hard from where we are so, the option will be to get it anyway so you'll have more infos of where the rock come from by comparing the veiw from the outside with the view from the inside. Now, I wonder of the interest of anylising felt rock because you must have the same info on the way down throught a bay. Benefict could may be to compare the same layer within a Bay and within a Cape...

The benefit of rocks in the scree slope below the bluffs is that they are right in front of you, instead of halfway up a vertical wall. You can RAT the dust off, and get a good, long look...


Bob Shaw

[climber]

The benefit of rocks in the scree slope below the bluffs is that they are right in front of you, instead of halfway up a vertical wall. You can RAT the dust off, and get a good, long look...
Bob Shaw

I agree on this Bob, I just says that if you don't know exactely where they come from, interest is less.

[Phil Stooke]

Here is jvandriel's 1058 pan in polar form.

Replying to Diane - we have to go in, but I'm not sure if there is a sanity level for driving round one of the capes!

And regarding scree - outcrops are better than scree because you know where a sample came from - as was said - but on the other hand the multispectral and miniTES can help resolve those issues as well.

Phil

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Airbag]

The choice of the place to enter the crater could be dictated by what you point out here BUT anylising a fallen "rock" will only benefit if you know for sure where it come from. This is hard from where we are so, the option will be to get it anyway so you'll have more infos of where the rock come from by comparing the veiw from the outside with the view from the inside. Now, I wonder of the interest of anylising felt rock because you must have the same info on the way down throught a bay. Benefict could may be to compare the same layer within a Bay and within a Cape...

No, that is not the rock I was refering to. I was refering to one of the larger pieces that make up the cliff itself; one of the presumed aeolian deposit ones. Its origin is quite clear - it is holding up the cliff and has not gone anywhere (yet).

You can see the slope is markedly less right in front of that one; that was my point. All the other "lower cliff" units we have seen so far have had steep slopes next to them.

Airbag

[mhoward]

Sol 1058

[CosmicRocker]

Thanks for the updates. Some of us were eagerly awaiting them.

MarsIsImportant: Regarding the exit ramp, I think I can see it, as long as that is also the entrance ramp. Like others, I would still be concerned about negotiating any of the major capes adjacent to it. Still, It does appear to be a place entry and exit might be possible.

[ronatu]

It looks like we possibly found a way OUT of Victory! Take a look and tell me what you think?

And why is that?

[Tesheiner]

Few activities (if any) tosol at VC, isn't it?

[dilo]

Sol 1058

Thanks, Michael. I know Phil already produced the polar projection, here I add also vertical one (2.5cm/pixel):

[Astro0]

I really love those polar projections from Dilo and others.
Here's my take on it.
"Opportunity on a Fractured World"
File:149k

Enjoy
Astro0

PS: The rover image came from another UMSF'ers rendering. Sorry I can't remember who.

[Tesheiner]

These are the planned sequences for sol 1060 and 1061:
- Color/stereo (L257R2) mosaic of Cape Desire
- Drive to a new position
- 180º navcam mosaic centered at 45º

This post has been edited by Tesheiner: Jan 17 2007, 09:28 AM

[Tesheiner]

These are the planned sequences for sol 1060 and 1061:
...
- Drive to a new position
- 180º navcam mosaic centered at 45º

To which point in this area (see below) would you drive and then take a picture centered at 45º (North is 0º)?



Hint: It remindes me of a song...

[djellison]

Due north of current position - imaging toward the dock and the edge of the bay.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Tesheiner]

Bingo!

That was my guess. However, I have to say that there is another "point with an interesting feature at 45º"; if they drive due south towards the tip of the current cape (*), Cape Desire would be centered right at that angle.

(*) BTW, I can't find any official name to the cape we are currently located (B1-B2).

[Nix]

PS: The rover image came from another UMSF'ers rendering. Sorry I can't remember who.

I think it was from Vikingmars(ODG). Nice view!

Nico

[Stu]

Lovely layers...

[Tesheiner]

Nice view, indeed. I'm wondering if they plan to drive to the *tip* of Cape Desire.

This is a 2x2 pancam mosaic of Cape Desire (L2 channel only, half-res):


Two pointings, probably covering the left part of the cape, are still missing.

[Stu]

Epic rock at the base here...

[Tesheiner]

FWIW, the plan for sol 1061 includes a similar pancam mosaic (6 pointings, L257R2) as this one taken on sol 1060. Then, driving again.

Color stitchers and anaglyph wizards, prepare your tools.

[jamescanvin]

Here is what we have so far:



James

[OWW]

FWIW, the plan for sol 1061 includes a similar pancam mosaic (6 pointings, L257R2) as this one taken on sol 1060. Then, driving again.

Color stitchers and anaglyph wizards, prepare your tools.

Looks like L2 only to me...

Sol Seq.Ver ETH ESF EDN EFF ERP Tot Description
----- -------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- -----------
01061 p1151.04 2 0 0 2 0 4 front_hazcam_idd_unstow_doc
01061 p1154.01 2 0 0 2 0 4 front_hazcam_idd_unstow_doc
01061 p1201.07 2 0 0 2 0 4 front_haz_penultimate_1bpp_pri17
01061 p1212.09 2 0 0 2 0 4 front_haz_ultimate_2_bpp_pri15
01061 p1301.06 2 0 0 2 0 4 rear_haz_penultimate_1bpp_pri17
01061 p1311.07 2 0 0 2 0 4 rear_haz_ultimate_1_bpp_crit15
01061 p1585.00 4 0 4 0 0 8 navcam_cloud_4x1_dwnsmp_RVRAz_calstart
01061 p1962.02 10 0 0 10 0 20 navcam_5x1_az_45_3_bpp
01061 p2137.06 1 1 0 0 1 3 pancam_cal_targ_L2
01061 p2351.09 6 0 0 6 1 13 pancam_cape_desire_longbaseline_6pos_L2
01061 p2352.09 8 0 0 8 2 18 pancam_drive_dir_4cx1r_L2R2
01061 p2600.10 2 2 0 0 2 6 pancam_tau
01061 p2633.01 4 2 0 0 2 8 pancam_late_tau_L58R48
01061 Total 47 5 4 36 8 100

[jamescanvin]

Looks like L2 only to me...

Yeah, which is annoying as the second mosaic is the right eye of the long baseline and L5&7 are needed for a colour anaglyph to be possible. 'L2 only' should be on the left, JB!

James

[Tesheiner]

Looks like L2 only to me...

Yup. I stand corrected.

[alan]

Yeah, which is annoying as the second mosaic is the right eye of the long baseline and L5&7 are needed for a colour anaglyph to be possible. 'L2 only' should be on the left, JB!

James

Couldn't it be done anyway if you viewed the result with the glasses reversed?

[Tesheiner]

Meanwhile, Oppy moved due north (11m) on sol 1061.


... as expected.

Navcam pics: http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportu...cam/2007-01-18/

[climber]

Meanwhile, Oppy moved due north (11m) on sol 1061.


... as expected.

Navcam pics: http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportu...cam/2007-01-18/

Would ne nice to test the new software and try to get to the Dock for the week-end . It seams too far actualy. Did you note this darker ("wet") part in front of us?

[Tesheiner]

> Would ne nice to test the new software and try to get to the Dock for the week-end.

That was exactly what I thought while waiting for the "drive-direction" pancam images. It would be a 30-40m drive, perhaps too much to be exactly at a nice rock in a single drive for IDD work except if using "go & touch".

But it seems to be out of the plans. This is tosol pancam mosaic; the focus is on Cape Desire, meaning that they are planning to drive on that direction tomorrow sol:



BTW, the panorama is a blast! What a view!

> Did you note this darker ("wet") part in front of us?

Yup. It might be dark sand accumulated there in a similar fashion as Eldorado.

[Ant103]

Very impressive images there. You're very nice

This my own version of Cape Desire :


I can't waiting anymore for the complete imagery set...

[Stu]

Looking forward to seeing all your true-colour versions of this...



This is "Stu-colour"

[jvandriel]

Stu,

how is it possible ?

Looking in the direction of the sun and see the shadow

of the cam in front of you.

jvandriel

[jamescanvin]

Couldn't it be done anyway if you viewed the result with the glasses reversed?

I did try this once (for a normal anaglyph as most of the blue/green filters are on the left pancam) but for some reason the result wasn't very satisfactory. Maybe I'll have another go with this.

[Stu]

Stu,

how is it possible ?

Looking in the direction of the sun and see the shadow

of the cam in front of you.

jvandriel

sigh... well, obviously the Sun is at the top there, and the sunlight is reflecting off Beacon behind Oppy, casting its shadow onto the ground...

(Can't believe I missed that... stoopid stoopid stoopid!!! blame it on a ten hr shift at work...! )

Better?

[jvandriel]

Very nice Stu.

jvandriel


Enjoy your work.

[jamescanvin]

I see now that I was getting confused. I was thinking the about the 1058 and 1060 positions as being the long baseline positions not 1060/1, so colour should be possible with the glasses the right way around. Greyscale for now though...

The baseline is very long, it works well for C1/2 (Hoy) area:



But takes quite a bit of distortion to get Cape Desire viewable:



James

[Greg Hullender]

I keep wanting to use some of these beautiful Victoria pics as my Windows Desktop, but I never see anything that's 1600x1200. Are the actual Rover images smaller than that?

--Greg

[jamescanvin]

Well all the raw images are 1024x1024 but the pans can be huge. For example my version of the Cape Verde pan (the biggest at Victoria so far) is 17039x3000. I'm sure you could resize and crop a whole load of stunning 1600x1200 images out of the mosaics produced so far.

[CosmicRocker]

But takes quite a bit of distortion to get Cape Desire viewable:

Well, I must have a mind that is quite a bit distorted. That one popped right into view for me, and it was amazing. I compared it side-by-side with the standard short baseline stereo. The vertical exaggeration (for lack of a better term), really added a tactile dimension to that outcrop. I felt as if I could reach in and gauge the depth of erosion between the laminations with my fingernails, or reach into a crevice, feeling for a loose fossil.
Thanks.

[jamescanvin]

Well, I must have a mind that is quite a bit distorted. That one popped right into view for me, and it was amazing.

I probably should have been clearer. What I meant was *I* had to distort the images quite a bit to make a working anaglyph, removing the need for all of you lot to distort your minds too much.

Glad you enjoyed it.

James

[Tesheiner]

I see now that I was getting confused. I was thinking the about the 1058 and 1060 positions as being the long baseline positions not 1060/1, so colour should be possible with the glasses the right way around. Greyscale for now though...

Now I'm confused.
Wasn't the images for the long baseline those from the positions as of sols 1058 and 1060? Perhaps the confusion is because they were actually taken on sols 1060 and 1061 but *before* driving?
-----------
On a different topic, tosol activities (1062) seems to be devoted to pancam imaging only. I won't expect another move until sunday/monday (sols 1064/1065).

[Floyd]

No data down from Opportunity today?

[Tesheiner]

Can't find any at the exploratorium or the pancam web.
Anyway, it's not the first time. Don't panic.

[jamescanvin]

Now I'm confused.
Wasn't the images for the long baseline those from the positions as of sols 1058 and 1060? Perhaps the confusion is because they were actually taken on sols 1060 and 1061 but *before* driving?

Ah sorry about that, it seems I was even more confused than I realized! I assumed that the images that came down were from the long baseline sequence - and they are clearly from after the drive. But those are in fact the "drive direction" images (I hope they don't!). Still, they made for a good *very* long baseline image.

James

[fredk]

From the latest update,

Opportunity was scheduled to take a picture of comet McNaught on the morning of the rover's 1,063rd sol, or Martian day, of Mars exploration (Jan. 20, 2007).

How cool can it get?!

Also two new names: Cabo Anonimo = Cape B2, and Guam = Dock of the bay.

[Stu]

Hmmmm... I doubt the comet will look very impressive from Mars, what with a) Mars being a lot farther away from it than Earth, and the comet appearing much closer to the Sun in the sky as seen from Mars than from Earth, but hey, you never know...

[jamescanvin]

I doubt the comet will look very impressive from Mars,

Maybe it won't *look* very impressive, but the *idea* of seeing a comet at all from the surface of Mars is VERY impressive (to me anyway).

[jamescanvin]

I won't expect another move until sunday/monday (sols 1064/1065).

1064 it is.

[CosmicRocker]

From the latest update,
How cool can it get?!

Also two new names: Cabo Anonimo = Cape B2, and Guam = Dock of the bay.

Indeed. I simply find it amazing that our robotic proxies on another planet, originally designed to be remotely controlled geologists have learned new skills, and are now astronomers as well. Surely it's not just not cosmetic. Having a longer baseline for astronomic observations should add to our knowledge of the orbits, or at least help to better calibrate our instruments.

As for Guam, it just doesn't have the same ring as "sitting on the dock of the bay." I think I'll always remember it with our name.

[nprev]

I seem to recall an old painting that showed a major comet from the surface of Mars (Bonestell, Ludek Pesek, or William Hartmann?)...selfishly hoping here that the pics of McNaught include some Martian horizon, but I have no idea what the viewing geometry will be.

[Stu]

Maybe it won't *look* very impressive, but the *idea* of seeing a comet at all from the surface of Mars is VERY impressive (to me anyway).

ABSOLUTELY! Couldn't agree more. I was just commenting on the practicalities, that's all. I had a go simulating it on STARRY NIGHT and to Oppy the comet will be very close to the Sun in a very bright dawn sky...



but the comet doesn't actually "pop out" until you turn the sky colour off. I suspect it might not be visible, but with that long tail who knows... No-one would love to see an image of a comet blazing in Mars' dusk sky more than me.

[Stu]

I seem to recall an old painting that showed a major comet from the surface of Mars (Bonestell, Ludek Pesek, or William Hartmann?)...selfishly hoping here that the pics of McNaught include some Martian horizon, but I have no idea what the viewing geometry will be.

This one?

Comet above Mars

[Bob Shaw]

Hmmmm... I doubt the comet will look very impressive from Mars, what with a) Mars being a lot farther away from it than Earth, and the comet appearing much closer to the Sun in the sky as seen from Mars than from Earth, but hey, you never know...

Stu:

Mars is Heaven!

o No wet windy weather
o No bloody dew on your optics
o No light pollution (OK, two moons, but they're not that big)
o No midgies (a Scottish version of Black Fly, hell in the summer)
o No nosy neighbours

OK, there are some disadvantages:

o Dust Devils (whoops, er, 'cleaning events')
o No atmosphere


Bob Shaw

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Images from Opportunity are down, nothing obvious in them... BUT remember the images we get are contrast stretched considerably, so it might be there in the original.

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...cam/2007-01-20/

[Phil Stooke]

I used those new images to look instead at the distant hills. This is a composite of all six frames, enlarged 200% and merged. The real data might show some proper detail on the hills.

Phil

[nprev]

This one?

Comet above Mars

That's the one; thanks, Stu! It's actually by Kim Poor, then.

[diane]

As for Guam, it just doesn't have the same ring as "sitting on the dock of the bay." I think I'll always remember it with our name.

To be geographically, historically, and pedantically accurate, Magellan landed at Guam in Umatac Bay, his first landfall after crossing the Pacific. Fort Soledad was the Spanish fort built on the point that overlooks the bay.

I think "Umatac Bay" has a nice ring to it, but then I have my own prejudice on this.

[jvandriel]

Here is the L0 Navcam panoramic view from Sol 1061.

jvandriel

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[hortonheardawho]

This is three of the 9 L4/R1 pairs shot just before sunrise on sol 1063.

I tried a number of processing tricks, but didn't see a hint of McNaught. Looks like the 12 bit data will be required -- if in fact the 2665 observation was an attempt to image the comet.

[fredk]

Yeah, I can see nothing in Spirit's attempt as well. Lost in the dusty haze of twilight. But the good news is McNaught's elongation from the sun is increasing rapidly now (for Mars too) and if it doesn't dim too rapidly and if the rover team decides so, we may get another chance.

[Tesheiner]

Oppy drove again on sol 1064 (navcams, pancams).

It was a very short drive (~4m) northwards and looks like it was prematurely aborted.
Both the navcam and pancam mosaics which are taken *after* the drive is finished are centered at 126º but if you look the pancams there is obviously no further driving path on that direction. My opinion is that the initial plan was to drive by the bay and stop right at Cape Desire.

[antoniseb]

Hmmm. I'd expected that they'd make a close inspection of 'the Dock'. My assumption was that it is there because of slippage into the crater, and there might well be some interesting strata there.

[Marz]

Hmmm. I'd expected that they'd make a close inspection of 'the Dock'. My assumption was that it is there because of slippage into the crater, and there might well be some interesting strata there.

I expected the same thing; if the "dock" is exposed from slumpage, then it's mostly unaltered from the impact and would be an easy first sample of upper layer rock that we can be sure wasn't part of the debris apron.

I wonder if the drive aborted because Oppy got nervous so near the edge?

[Tesheiner]

I wouldn't rule out the dock yet. It could be the next target after Cape Desire.
Let's see what happens (tomorrow?).

[jvandriel]

Here is the panoramic view from Sol 1064.

Taken with the L0 Navcam.

Great driving. Very close to the rim.

jvandriel

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[mhoward]

Look at this jutting rock! I hadn't noticed it in the Navcam. Wonderful!

[CosmicRocker]

I wouldn't rule out the dock yet. It could be the next target after Cape Desire.
Let's see what happens (tomorrow?).

I hope you are right, Tesheiner. If Opportunity does not actually visit the outcrop, I would really like to see some Pancams in its direction at the closest approach. I hate to go out on a limb like this, but that outcrop really looks much like the other ejecta we've seen.

[climber]

Look at this jutting rock! I hadn't noticed it in the Navcam. Wonderful!

Probably one of the most unweathered rocks lie...inside