On to Santa Maria! |
On to Santa Maria! |
Oct 31 2010, 10:44 AM
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#16
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
Great articles, as usual, Stu. Just a correction to the second picture, that one with the distances to all little craters up to the "Waypoint": it's about 270m (and not 1.7km) to that crater. Ah *****! Corrected, thanks. That's what you get for getting up at 6am to catch up on stuff before going to work... I know we won't be approaching Santa Maria from the south, but I'm struck by some features there... are the "domes" filled-in, older craters? Wind-carved features? They just caught my eye, that's all... -------------------- |
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Oct 31 2010, 11:23 AM
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#17
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
My impression is that we can basically see all of the plains now, up to the near rim of Endeavour. fredk, looking at that second image of yours...and to think that Endeavour was just a crazy thought some time ago still boggles my mind... -------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Oct 31 2010, 12:23 PM
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#18
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
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Oct 31 2010, 12:56 PM
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#19
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2262 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Melbourne - Oz Member No.: 16 |
Nice comparison Stu. So Santa Maria is kind of Duck Bay sized, that helps me visualise it a lot, thanks.
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Oct 31 2010, 03:23 PM
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#20
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
The new navcams and pancams are down. Here's a stereo view showing a number of the craters ahead on the plains. In order of distance, the closest is what I labelled D (the "doublet"), then C, then A (the "waypoint"), and finally much farther away is G. Immediately past D is the ultra-flat stretch.
(Oh yeah, and even farther away is a little crater known as Endeavour...) |
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Oct 31 2010, 03:56 PM
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#21
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
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Oct 31 2010, 04:22 PM
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#22
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Member Group: Members Posts: 128 Joined: 28-October 08 From: Boston, MA Member No.: 4469 |
Nice graphic, Stu. How would you feel about tossing Endurance in there for comparison?
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Oct 31 2010, 05:03 PM
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#23
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Member Group: Members Posts: 562 Joined: 29-March 05 Member No.: 221 |
Interesting comparison, it looks like santa maria crater is large enough/old enough for the 'capes' and 'bays' formations to form. If that were the case for santa maria then it would indicate that the original crater was smaller than the size we see now.
It would be really interesting to see all the craters above the size of say eagle crater size in Oppys vicinity/on meridiani planum, against each other, a bit like Emily's asteroid montage. It would even be neat to keep the positional relationship to see morphological differences in cratering relating to changes in the plains in which they are punched. if there is a size correlations with bay formation/depth that would be interesting to see. It might also give some clues as to the erosion rate as larger craters would be expected to be older. |
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Oct 31 2010, 06:14 PM
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#24
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
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Oct 31 2010, 06:31 PM
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#25
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
Actually the fabulous stretched pan was from Phil - I only added the labels. sorry Phil! Thanks to everyone who lets me use their pix on my blog. Much appreciated. Might try to make an 'all craters' montage, when I'm not so busy. Maybe Christmas. 2030! -------------------- |
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Oct 31 2010, 07:22 PM
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#26
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Member Group: Members Posts: 194 Joined: 3-January 10 Member No.: 5156 |
Here it is!
I put famous craters in one picture, grabbed from Google Earth (also grabbed the strange color of endurance). It roughly the same scale, but not really exact. The point inside the eagle crater is the lander. The rovers are about the same size (3-4 pixels). I put also the next waypoints to the picture: Santa Maria and Cape York. Interesting: Cape York could fit into Victoria! Santa Maria crater is a little smaller than endurance, but Bonneville, visited by Spirit, is larger. The Home Plate, well visited by Spirit, is just as big as Santa Maria. -------------------- Need more input ...
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Guest_Oersted_* |
Oct 31 2010, 09:01 PM
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#27
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Guests |
Thanks MoreInput!
Funny, I thought Cape York was much much bigger... |
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Nov 1 2010, 09:31 AM
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#28
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2173 Joined: 28-December 04 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 132 |
Funny, I thought Cape York was much much bigger... Here's Cape York (circled). http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/press/op.../20100629a.html |
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Nov 1 2010, 01:20 PM
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#29
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 71 Joined: 19-January 10 From: Grimsby, N.E. Lincs, UK Member No.: 5179 |
Another really fascinating monthly report by A.J.S. Ryal (with help from Stu and Tesh amongst others) has just been released on The Planetary Society website for October, 2010.
Others will be able to post a link and give a far better synopsis than I but it really does provide a lot of detailed information for the MER fan and scientist alike! Basically, the excitement level with both rovers is growing - Spirit in anticipation of her regaining contact, Opportunity with Santa Maria and the continuation of the journey to Endeavour. Thanks again to all those who keep us so well informed and up to date with these missions. Neil |
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Nov 1 2010, 02:05 PM
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#30
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
Here's our first navcam view of the new terrain:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...0M1.JPG?sol2407 |
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