MSL - Astronomical Observations, Phobos/Deimos, planetary/celestial observations and more |
MSL - Astronomical Observations, Phobos/Deimos, planetary/celestial observations and more |
Sep 26 2013, 03:54 PM
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#181
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
The shape of the moon also affects solar transit planning. But in that case, you can shoot video to improve the odds of catching the contacts, of course. Still, with a long enough exposure, a nighttime occultation should be catchable even with shape uncertainties. Getting the overall timing right sounds harder, as Deimos says. And getting useful S/N.
It's a notable coincidence of geometry that it looks like we can get occultations of Aldebaran from MSL - we also get transits of Aldebaran on Earth. Our Moon orbits fairly close to the ecliptic, while Phobos orbits close to Mars' equator, so the two planes must intersect somewhere near Aldebaran (but perspective effects are also much more important for Phobos than our Moon). Edit: after tolis's reply I think I see what Doug meant. But we do have the possibility of seeing a ghostly Phobos in Mars's shadow, as we've seen recently. That should help break the ambiguity. |
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Sep 27 2013, 06:06 AM
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#182
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2228 Joined: 1-December 04 From: Marble Falls, Texas, USA Member No.: 116 |
MOD NOTE: Quote including animation of Phobos entering Mars' shadow removed per rule 3.5. Urge all to review rules again and the recent post concerning Forum etiquette; there is a practical rationale for this.
All that said, could not agree more with your sentiments, CR. I am 63 years old, and that is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Thank you for posting that incredible animation. The cameras on this machine are unbelievable. -------------------- ...Tom
I'm not a Space Fan, I'm a Space Exploration Enthusiast. |
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Sep 27 2013, 07:01 AM
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#183
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2082 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
Indeed. I don't see how Siding Spring could get by next year...
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Sep 27 2013, 10:45 AM
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#184
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Member Group: Members Posts: 149 Joined: 18-June 08 Member No.: 4216 |
Further on the subject of which bright stars are "occultable" by Phobos/Deimos, assuming that
Mars' rotation pole points somewhere near Deneb (alpha Cygni) and such stars would therefore need to be ~90 deg away, Fomalhaut (alpha Piscis Austrini, V=1.16) looks like a possibility also. edit: ..and I agree that C/2013 A1 is going to be a-mazing! |
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Dec 8 2013, 02:26 AM
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#185
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2346 Joined: 7-December 12 Member No.: 6780 |
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Feb 2 2014, 09:57 AM
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#186
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Member Group: Members Posts: 691 Joined: 21-December 07 From: Clatskanie, Oregon Member No.: 3988 |
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Feb 4 2014, 10:46 PM
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#187
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2511 Joined: 13-September 05 Member No.: 497 |
-------------------- Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.
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Feb 4 2014, 10:54 PM
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#188
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
My guess as to Earth's location on the sol 529 mastcam:
(This is based on comparison with another MR frame and noting which bright spots are present in both, and hence are not in the sky. Also, the arrowed spot is the most point-spread-functiony of the few spots not on both frames. Plus the field is correct according to James, ie azimuth should be around 293 or 294 degrees.) |
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Feb 4 2014, 11:36 PM
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#189
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
Is this the first Earth image? http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/ms...0000E1_DXXX.jpg That one is cool once I'm told what it is, but I'm waiting with bated breath for the full-res MLs that include the twilit horizon... -------------------- My website - My Patreon - @elakdawalla on Twitter - Please support unmannedspaceflight.com by donating here.
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Feb 5 2014, 10:32 AM
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#190
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Member Group: Members Posts: 112 Joined: 20-August 12 From: Spain Member No.: 6597 |
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Feb 5 2014, 10:46 AM
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#191
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Member Group: Members Posts: 112 Joined: 20-August 12 From: Spain Member No.: 6597 |
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Feb 5 2014, 12:08 PM
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#192
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2346 Joined: 7-December 12 Member No.: 6780 |
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Feb 5 2014, 12:10 PM
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#193
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1619 Joined: 12-February 06 From: Bergerac - FR Member No.: 678 |
Finally we get the twilight images Very good work para'
Here is my take. A lot of work, like removing the noise, removing the dark spots, blur to remove some of the jpeg artifacts. And the result is pretty good. The essential here is that we are seeing the Earth in the martian twilight !! -------------------- |
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Feb 5 2014, 12:19 PM
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#194
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Member Group: Members Posts: 691 Joined: 21-December 07 From: Clatskanie, Oregon Member No.: 3988 |
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Feb 5 2014, 03:47 PM
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#195
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
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