Winter campaign at Cook Haven, Sol 3512 - 3599 (December 13, 2013 - March 10, 2014) |
Winter campaign at Cook Haven, Sol 3512 - 3599 (December 13, 2013 - March 10, 2014) |
Mar 6 2014, 10:31 PM
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#196
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
I'm still not convinced that the tilt is a factor here. I'd say that the wind along a slope is more or less parallel to the slope. If the wind was directed into the slope, the air would have to compress, which it doesn't do (significantly, anyway). Oppy's panels are tilted compared to level, but they are more or less parallel to the local slope. So the wind should be blowing more or less parallel to the panels, like it did when we were out on the plains.
But the topography could somehow give us stronger winds than we've seen before. Or turbulent lee eddies that might be good at cleaning dust of the panels. |
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Mar 6 2014, 10:47 PM
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#197
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
I'm looking at Astro0's picture in post 191. Which way would you want to tilt to get your panels cleaned? I'd go for down slope and into the wind.
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Mar 6 2014, 11:27 PM
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#198
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1043 Joined: 17-February 09 Member No.: 4605 |
I'm with fredk in that Opportunity's solar panels are always pretty much parallel to the terrain and wind. But despite lots of erudite articles and hypotheses the mechanism behind the cleaning events remains something of a mystery. From Larry Crumpler's contour map, during Opportunity's climb up the Solander ridge the topography would seem to put her in a zone of lower pressure and higher velocity. Yellow-bellied glider however raises the question as to what is a drift of pure dust doing in what should be a material removal zone? However, with the need for a northerly tilt for power, for much of the time it would seem that the solar panels would have been at a slight negative angle to the prevailing wind so turbulence, as suggested by fredk, does explain the continued removal, particularly if turbulence is a factor in the electrostatic charge of the dust.
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Mar 10 2014, 02:30 AM
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#199
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1074 Joined: 21-September 07 From: Québec, Canada Member No.: 3908 |
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Mar 10 2014, 08:06 PM
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#200
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Member Group: Members Posts: 507 Joined: 10-September 08 Member No.: 4338 |
Given the slow but steady dust removal, I wonder if it might be worth leaving the MiniTes window open again for a while in the hopes that the MT might be restored?
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Mar 10 2014, 09:06 PM
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#201
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10151 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
They tried it so many times and it produced no results - probably it's not slow and steady dust removal that it needs, but a very energetic event, and they are completely unpredictable. I think we have to accept MTES is gone for ever. Don't forget that the open/close actions themselves involve extra planning time and sequence complexity.
Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PD: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Apr 22 2014, 06:21 PM
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#202
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Member Group: Members Posts: 699 Joined: 3-December 04 From: Boulder, Colorado, USA Member No.: 117 |
Looks like it's time to start a new topic…
John |
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Apr 22 2014, 07:36 PM
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#203
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 4279 Joined: 19-April 05 From: .br at .es Member No.: 253 |
You're right John, and I just have created a new one.
I will, most probably, be moving the latest pages because the "Winter campaing at Cook Haven" have already finished time ago and those posts would not belong here. Edit: done. |
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