Post Conjunction: Santa Maria to Cape York, The Journey to 'Spirit Point' Options

[ElkGroveDan]

Starting a new topic to include Eduardo's Google overlay for the rest of the journey to Cape York:

http://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/gmars_ma...41_1775_RED.kml

Follow the link above and it should load right in to your Google Mars features.

I took a low crow's flight along the final 6km this morning. Below in green is what I think the final route will look like. Also an interesting feature along the way that appears to be a cluster of rocks, possibly Santa Maria ejecta, or large meteorite fragments. Note how the dune has evolved around the three (or more) objects. Object is at -2.199395°, -5.396676° -- roughly 3km down range from Santa Maria.

EDIT: bad link replaced, wider context image added for three rocks.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[jvandriel]

Thanks for the comments on the colorization of panorama's.
I must admit that the word color is not the right one, it must be colorization.
It's an artistic impression of the colors on Mars. ( DFortes, Walfy )
You like Rembrandt or not, You like van Gogh or not, You like Picasso or not, to name a few.
I have never stated this are the True colors on Mars.
The sole purpose is for better and enjoyable viewing. ( DJEllison )
Others make polar views and others do vertikal stretching, also for better viewing.

For Toma B
It are colorized L2 images from Exploratorium. The L5 and L7 images where not published at that moment.

Let us be happy that so many people follow Spirit and Opportunity on Mars and use the images.

Thanks to Steve Squyres etc. who made this possible.

Jan van Driel

[djellison]

The sole purpose is for better and enjoyable viewing. ( DJEllison )

You're reducing the available detail in tinting it so vividly orange, so quite how it can be 'better' I don't know.

Put a picture of Huygens on one of them. It doesn't look out of place.

[Pertinax]

You're reducing the available detail in tinting it so vividly orange, so quite how it can be 'better' I don't know.

Hi Doug,

If I may offer a thought here.... I suspect your difference of opinion and interpretive value regarding the tinted imagery Jan produces may be more akin to the differences you and Stu have at times, such anthropomorphizing the rovers vs not (does Oppy's heart glow, or is it's WEB just emitting greater in the LWIR than it's surroundings).

I suspect that Jan and others enjoyment of the tinted imagery, their consideration of it as an improvement, lies in the atmosphere, mood, or even sense of place the color evokes. On the other hand I, along with yourself and at least Toma B prefer the the imagery to be as accurate and full a representation of the actual data, the scene as sensed, as possible. Consequently, the heavy tinting is a burdensome obfuscation of the data, a hindrance to the analytical enjoyment of the data in it's fullness (at lease as far as the stretched jpgs allow anyway). Aesthetics vs analytics.

Maybe I'm stating the obvious. Anyway, that is my two cents in hope of easing the discussion a little.


-- Pertinax