MEX VMC - Back on, and online! |
MEX VMC - Back on, and online! |
 Aug 22 2008, 01:58 PM
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#1
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Founder  Group: Chairman Posts: 14448 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1  |
I heard about this 24 hours ago, and couldn't believe it - this is EXACTLY what has been missing from ESA. MASSIVE kudos to the ESOC MEX flight ops team for doing it
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/VMC/index.html The last time I wrote a post and hit 'submit' at UMSF with a smile this big on my face, was when Oppy successfully got out of Purgatory. |
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Sep 5 2008, 05:53 PM
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#2
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 Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 37 Joined: 27-August 08 From: Darmstadt, Germany Member No.: 4320 |
Just to put my two cents in, you're right that the "object" fades a lot towards the end of the observation. It could well be that we're seeing something like the face on Mars - just a combination of light and shadow that looks like something we want to see. Nonetheless there aren't any major features I can see on the Mars map that would give rise to such a large flare/shadow. In ustrax's plot the crater identified is (I believe from looking at the Celestia file) Copernicus.
Using Ian Musgrave's Registax techniques he describes here http://astroblogger.blogspot.com/2008/08/w...-over-mars.html, combined with ugordon's colour processing script, I wonder if it's possible to clean up the image and see if we can place it more precisely on a map of Mars. Would be great to see what more it could teach us! P.S. Top theories so far include trick of the light, cloud or (a long shot, but a cool one) an impact event plume... -------------------- |
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Sep 6 2008, 10:12 AM
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#3
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 Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
dear Ormstont, I am sorry to be a bit limited in terms of software for the moment but if that carter is indeed Copernicus then, looking at Google Mars, I see a bright patch to the right of the crater (marked) that could be the "culprit"...assuming that I am getting the right orientation and scale...
-------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Sep 6 2008, 07:02 PM
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#4
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 Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3652 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
It definitely appears to be atmospheric as the shadow moves below it (click to enlarge):
 It seems to have dissipated at the end. Based on the rough 100 km size estimate I get a height in excess of 100 km (around 110 km, but the uncertainty is rather large) if my back-of-the-envelope calculation is right using this 3x magnified bit:  If it's an ordinary cloud, what would make it so circular at that altitude and would it dissipate quickly in sunlight? If it's an impact plume, wouldn't we expect a darker color and much lower and more persistent plume? -------------------- |
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Sep 6 2008, 08:11 PM
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#5
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 6 2008, 08:02 PM)  It definitely appears to be atmospheric I keep my thought after seing your animation... the shadow seem to me to be originated on an elevation to the right, as the sun decreases in the horizon the shadow decreases and so does the brightness in the circular feature. I keep my guess: they are not related... -------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Sep 6 2008, 08:43 PM
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#6
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3652 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
QUOTE (ustrax @ Sep 6 2008, 10:11 PM) the shadow seem to me to be originated on an elevation to the right You do realize it would have to be an awfully big topographic high, don't you? We're talking about objects 100 km in size and the shadow is something like twice that size, even well past the terminator. That would put Olympus Mons to shame, no? Furthermore, the shadow isn't simply getting shorter, it's actually disappearing at the same time the bright circular object (let's call it 'cloud' for discussion's sake  ) is disappearing.
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Sep 6 2008, 08:47 PM
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#7
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 524 Joined: 24-November 04 From: Heraklion, GR. Member No.: 112 |
QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 6 2008, 11:43 PM) You do realize it would have to be an awfully big topographic high, don't you? We're talking about objects 100 km in size and the shadow is something like twice that size, even well past the terminator. That would put Olympus Mons to shame, no? The typical anti-Ustrax that posts lately here. Now he sees an inverse abyss 
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Sep 6 2008, 09:21 PM
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#8
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
QUOTE (TheChemist @ Sep 6 2008, 09:47 PM) The typical anti-Ustrax that posts lately here. Now he sees an inverse abyss Now you got me in my new strategy...to assume there's nothing special in order to be surprised in the end of it all...I DON'T want Oppy headed towards Ithaca! (See what I mean?... )QUOTE You do realize it would have to be an awfully big topographic high, don't you? No I don't... 
-------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Sep 6 2008, 09:23 PM
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#9
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3652 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
QUOTE (ustrax @ Sep 6 2008, 11:21 PM) Now you got me in my new strategy...to assume there's nothing special in order to be surprised in the end of it all... Congratulations and welcome to the club known as The Pessimist. I hope you'll enjoy your stay! -------------------- |
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Sep 6 2008, 09:27 PM
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#10
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 6 2008, 10:23 PM) Congratulations and welcome to the club known as The Pessimist. I hope you'll enjoy your stay! Thanks but I believe it won't be long enough to be enjoyed in its full splendor...  -------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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djellison MEX VMC - Back on, and online! Aug 22 2008, 01:58 PM
djellison FWIW - I've attempted to debayer a tiny piece ... Aug 22 2008, 02:57 PM djellison I THINK I got a bit cleverer in making selections ... Aug 22 2008, 03:20 PM
ugordan Wow, great work, Doug. My method of making a Bayer... Aug 22 2008, 03:25 PM Tman QUOTE (ugordan @ Aug 22 2008, 05:25 PM) H... Aug 22 2008, 03:46 PM Stu ESA often get a hard time here for what they do - ... Aug 22 2008, 03:23 PM PDP8E I always though that the Lunar Prospector team was... Aug 22 2008, 03:24 PM djellison QUOTE (PDP8E @ Aug 22 2008, 04:24 PM) I a... Aug 22 2008, 03:32 PM djellison Oh boy oh boy
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multi... Aug 22 2008, 04:06 PM ugordan I'm gonna give it a go at writing an app for a... Aug 22 2008, 04:10 PM Juramike Even better, it looks like they'd like submiss... Aug 22 2008, 04:37 PM tedstryk QUOTE (Juramike @ Aug 22 2008, 04:37 PM) ... Aug 22 2008, 06:45 PM ugordan Nice catch, Tman! Looks like clouds to me, rot... Aug 22 2008, 07:06 PM Paolo Amoroso Does the Picasa logo on VMC images imply that they... Aug 22 2008, 04:42 PM ugordan I've got a basic app going, it performs a rudi... Aug 22 2008, 06:00 PM djellison QUOTE (ugordan @ Aug 22 2008, 07:00 PM) W... Aug 22 2008, 08:31 PM ugordan To be honest, coding that particular bit was easy.... Aug 22 2008, 09:34 PM slinted Kudos to the ESA and MEX teams! This is an ex... Aug 22 2008, 11:44 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (Paolo Amoroso @ Aug 22 2008, 06:42... Aug 22 2008, 06:33 PM Tman Very nice Gordan!
What could that illuminated... Aug 22 2008, 06:27 PM Paolo Amoroso Are you able to use the Celestia scripts? I downlo... Aug 22 2008, 06:36 PM Astro0 QUOTE (Paolo Amoroso @ Aug 23 2008, 04:36... Aug 23 2008, 03:57 AM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (Astro0 @ Aug 23 2008, 05:57 AM) I ... Aug 23 2008, 12:27 PM ugordan A dodgy first version of the tool:
It takes an in... Aug 23 2008, 02:26 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (Paolo Amoroso @ Aug 23 2008, 02:27... Aug 23 2008, 02:34 PM Astro0 Paolo, see if you can download Celestia 1.5.0. It ... Aug 23 2008, 11:32 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (Astro0 @ Aug 24 2008, 01:32 AM) Pa... Aug 24 2008, 02:35 PM Stu Hmmm... why do the words "Kids", "n... Aug 22 2008, 09:45 PM djellison I was thinking 'pig' and err...'poo... Aug 22 2008, 10:00 PM jekbradbury For those who would rather not manually run each o... Aug 24 2008, 02:28 AM Tman The VMC public gallery has opened http://www.esa.i... Aug 26 2008, 07:16 PM Stu In advance of him joining UMSF I've been asked... Aug 27 2008, 04:13 PM ormstont Thanks to Stu for passing on the message, I'm ... Aug 27 2008, 07:18 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (ormstont @ Aug 27 2008, 09:18 PM) ... Aug 28 2008, 11:29 AM imipak I'm only an "armchair UMSFer", with ... Aug 27 2008, 09:10 PM Juramike Here is an GIF animation I made from a sequence of... Aug 28 2008, 04:57 AM ormstont Phobos and Deimos would both be fun targets, the b... Aug 28 2008, 02:15 PM chiron Hi everybody
I worked the last days on a program ... Aug 29 2008, 11:07 AM tedstryk I had a go at the July 29, 2008 dataset. Man, thi... Aug 29 2008, 02:03 PM ormstont Tough stuff to work with indeed makes it all the ... Aug 29 2008, 05:41 PM tedstryk Thanks! I am headed out on vacation, but I wi... Aug 29 2008, 06:42 PM Juramike Assembled mosaic from June 22, 2008 series of imag... Aug 30 2008, 02:24 AM Juramike Handy little guide and detailed explanation of the... Aug 30 2008, 03:56 AM JTN QUOTE (Juramike @ Aug 30 2008, 04:56 AM) ... Aug 30 2008, 04:15 PM Paolo Amoroso It would be useful for the VMC site to have an RSS... Aug 31 2008, 01:49 PM ormstont Sorry for being a bit quiet - as you can probably ... Sep 4 2008, 03:56 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (ormstont @ Sep 4 2008, 05:56 PM) I... Sep 5 2008, 03:11 PM Stu re your "mystery object"...
Perhaps...? Sep 4 2008, 06:43 PM ormstont Definitely hoping for Martians (then we'd have... Sep 5 2008, 11:26 AM ormstont Ok...image gallery is online on the website, along... Sep 5 2008, 02:54 PM djellison That is unusual. At first I thought it might be a... Sep 5 2008, 03:10 PM Stu I may be wrong (probably am) but think this might ... Sep 5 2008, 03:17 PM remcook cool, looks like a volcano eruption it's not ... Sep 5 2008, 03:40 PM ustrax I've been far away for so long that I've b... Sep 5 2008, 03:55 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (ustrax @ Sep 5 2008, 05:55 PM) [..... Sep 5 2008, 04:09 PM ustrax In this specific image it looks to me that the sha... Sep 5 2008, 05:02 PM Stu How about a meteoroid impact that sent up a big du... Sep 5 2008, 03:57 PM ustrax I'm here...
This is what I mean:
Looks to... Sep 5 2008, 04:06 PM Juramike Nice animation, Gordan!
As you've shown, ... Sep 6 2008, 07:40 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 6 2008, 09:02 PM) It... Sep 6 2008, 08:12 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (Paolo Amoroso @ Sep 6 2008, 10:12 ... Sep 7 2008, 02:40 PM ugordan Here's a new version of VMC2RGB, this time imp... Sep 8 2008, 09:50 PM siravan QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 6 2008, 02:02 PM) Ba... Sep 6 2008, 11:08 PM ugordan Yep, it appears I messed up the calculation of (at... Sep 6 2008, 11:39 PM stevesliva Does fog cast a shadow? Would it be forming above... Sep 8 2008, 10:18 PM ormstont Ok...more info on our strange cloud...we've go... Sep 11 2008, 10:08 AM remcook yes, I think 80 km is a normal altitude for these ... Sep 11 2008, 11:41 AM ormstont Wow...you beat me to posting the link I've ju... Sep 11 2008, 01:45 PM elakdawalla I'd like to include one of the VMC crescent im... Sep 12 2008, 09:38 PM ugordan All 2008 crescents indeed appear to be severely ov... Sep 12 2008, 11:36 PM ormstont So, looks like our other MEX instrument teams are ... Sep 13 2008, 07:20 PM ugordan I'd be interested in knowing what the difficul... Sep 13 2008, 07:24 PM ormstont Well, part of the difficulty is that we have no wa... Sep 13 2008, 08:23 PM ugordan QUOTE (ormstont @ Sep 13 2008, 10:23 PM) ... Sep 13 2008, 08:41 PM Tman QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 13 2008, 10:41 PM) A... Sep 13 2008, 10:27 PM Paolo Amoroso QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 13 2008, 10:41 PM) I... Sep 14 2008, 09:54 AM ormstont Ok, get what you're going for there - the only... Sep 14 2008, 11:21 AM ugordan I don't personally think a dark frame would be... Sep 14 2008, 05:43 PM jekbradbury I am trying to organize the images by position in ... Sep 14 2008, 08:57 PM ormstont QUOTE (ugordan @ Sep 14 2008, 07:43 PM) T... Sep 15 2008, 08:06 AM jekbradbury That was exactly what I was looking for. Taking i... Sep 16 2008, 01:56 AM Juramike I finally downloaded Celestia (slaps head, why did... Sep 16 2008, 04:21 AM Juramike Interesting how both the "mystery cloud... Sep 16 2008, 04:30 AM ormstont QUOTE (jekbradbury @ Sep 16 2008, 03:56 A... Sep 16 2008, 08:12 AM Juramike It's baaaack!
Another cloud sequence at s... Sep 17 2008, 04:43 AM ormstont Interesting that we might have a cloud factory on ... Sep 17 2008, 09:59 AM ormstont Just a quick plug - got some more lovely shots fro... Sep 17 2008, 02:42 PM Juramike The thing that's been puzzling me is the appea... Sep 17 2008, 02:51 PM djellison I love this camera. Sep 17 2008, 03:07 PM Juramike Here is an attempted mosaic of the "relativel... Sep 18 2008, 04:31 AM Juramike There are few guarantees in life...
but finding cl... Sep 20 2008, 04:01 AM |
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