Continuing into Glenelg, Leaving Rocknest behind, sols 102-166 (Nov 18 2012-Jan 23, 2013) Options

[Airbag]

One approach - paste one image over another. Invert the shading of the top one (make it a negative of itself). Make the top one 50% transparent. If no change the result is a flat grey. And change including shadows will show up light or dark. Major contrast stretch might help.

Did that for sols 120-146; still nothing obvious or indeed anything even vaguely possible that persisted for more than one frame. I tested the algorithm below with some dummy +1/-1% brightness "dust devil" data which did then show up quite easily:

CODE

convert a.JPG -colorspace Gray \( b.JPG -colorspace Gray -negate \) \
-compose Plus -composite -modulate 50 -blur 9 -auto-level out.jpg

Airbag

PS No idea why the code box above is so big.

[mhoward]

And we have a name: "Snake River". http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-003

[dburt]

...Fluvial or aeolian origin may still be options. Fluvial may be more likely than lacustrine. But I think, the impact hypotheses will become less likely.

For non-geologists, I point out that MSL is exploring a thick sequence of layered rocks, presumably formed over a long period of time by a variety of processes. Each layer (even a thin layer) could have been formed by a process distinct from whatever formed the layers above and below it, and owing to, say, erosion and reworking, any given layer might have formed by a combination of processes. Given the impact- and volcanism-dominated history of early Mars, one would certainly expect to find layers formed by distant impacts (e.g., blast beds) or volcanoes (e.g., ash beds) inter-layered with rocks formed by other processes.
-dburt

[ngunn]

Apologies for not being fully up to speed but a one word answer would help me here. Does your scenario for early Mars include or exclude the possibility of a lake of water in Gale crater?

[Zelenyikot]

Colored ChemCam on Sol 147 and location of shots in Snake River

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Ant103]

Sol 147 Navcam pan. Get ready for some drilling ?

[Bill Harris]

Each layer (even a thin layer) could have been formed by a process distinct from whatever formed the layers above and below it, and owing to, say, erosion and reworking, any given layer might have formed by a combination of processes.

Absolutely. On Mars, the stratigraphy is exceedingly complex and most depositional, weathering and erosional processes, although familiar, are quite alien in their details.

a one word answer would help me here...

Maybe.

--Bill

[dburt]

...a one word answer would help me here. Does your scenario for early Mars include or exclude the possibility of a lake of water in Gale crater?

Sorry, to the extent that this was addressed to me, no opinion and no particular scenario. As a geologist, I merely try to interpret the rocks as they are imaged. So far MSL has imaged no rocks that look like lake beds, but the mission is just beginning. Bill Harris just summarized this matter far more succinctly than I ever could.
-dburt

[Phil Stooke]

At last! I'm back home after my holiday travels - and/or travails - so i can get back to work on Mars. Here is Ant103's new pan in circular format. I will be updating the route map when I get back to my office, where I can call it 'work'.

Phil



PS - I really like the color chemcam images.

[ngunn]

Maybe.

no opinion and no particular scenario.

Thanks both.

[Airbag]

Sols 137-141 MastCam 100 pano now almost complete with some full-size stragglers arriving today. Just two more!


Airbag

[Airbag]

...and the sol 137 MastCam34 360 degree pano's last two full-size images arrived today; this updated QT pano starts off pointing at the current Sol 147 view:

 MSL_sol_137_ML_QT_pano_v2.mov ( 947.26K ) Number of downloads: 404

Airbag

[Airbag]

...and for traditionalists, the sol 137 MastCam34 (pano) view of this same current sol 147 area in color and high res (shame that that one image is still missing...):


Airbag

[Reed]

Impressive tail on this rock from sol 138 http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/ms...6000E2_DXXX.jpg

[James Sorenson]

As Airbag said, the Sol-137 Left Mastcam is now complete.
My version has been reduced 25 percent because Flickr fails to upload the full version. Grr


EDIT: Added some sky