Paolo's Plunge, First dip into Victoria Options

[mhoward]

PCTDB is back up!

[fredk]

Probably not directly comparable, because they seem to have formed in an eddy next to the cliff, but certainly not artifacts of the viewing angle (which was from the side, because unlike the Pancam, I can bend down).

As far as viewing angle, surely that was addressed at Overgaard with the stereo and MI imagery? And I mean quantitatively, not just "to my eyes that looks like..." or whatever.

I've heard little about the "festoons" since we were at Erebus - I recall that the claims were fairly strong at the time that these were ripples due to running water. Does anyone know if the proponents are as strong in their convictions today? I know there's still keen interest to find more such features, perhaps even by returning to Erebus or some such heavily eroded crater after Victoria.

[dburt]

Fredk - As far as I know, the viewing angle was (and must always be) downwards for the Pancam, as for the MI if the camera is arranged perpendicular to a sloping surface that intersects bedding at an angle (in order to maintain focus across the image plane). The only exception would be if it were parked next to a vertical cliff. What the stereo and MI imagery were claimed to show, and what they seemed to show to this admittedly biased geologist (even on CR's anaglyph) disagreed, obviously. CR and I have "agreed to disagree" on this, and let's leave it at that - I don't want this discussion of exciting new Victoria observations to be diverted.

I will point out (soapbox alert!), however, that saying festoon proponents are "strong in their convictions" makes festoonology sound somewhat more like religion than science. As a scientist, I have no convictions (not even criminal ones ). I only make testable hypotheses or tentative interpretations. I'm waiting for Oppy to show us features that look somewhat more like real current ripples, such as those I showed from the Grand Canyon. Here's a larger version of that photo, and I apologize for the quality (it was taken in full shade by this relatively inexperienced - a that time - photographer using an earlier generation digicam with a dirty - river splash - lens). The climbing and trough-cross-bedded nature of the ripples are very clearly visible, especially in the central shaded area, as is the fact that the current was moving from the right to the left (or coming from downstream, indicating a near-shore counter-current eddy). Near-shore eddies with reverse current flow are very common along the Colorado River, and the river boatmen utilize them to make easier landings possible.


If Oppy can show me something like that in Victoria, even I might become a believer in current flow (keeping in mind that surge currents apparently can produce similar features ). In the meantime, might we at least agree that "festoons" are a rather slender thread on which to be hanging the entire interpretation of Meridiani surface water flow, especially if they aren't even unique to water flow?

-- HDP Don

[dilo]

A couple of projections from Sol1298 panorama (right NavCam, hand colorization):
vertical:
pseudo-polar:
In the latter, note the deep rover tracks on DB dunes, at 11 o'clock...

[lyford]

mmmmm.... Victoria doughnut!

[dburt]

Oppy moved again tosol (1305). Here is what is in front of us at the new site...
The right side of this image is the same patch of ground as at the top-left of my sol 1302 image, near where CR was pointing to interesting stuff.

Great panorama, as usual. What I couldn't help noticing in that image was the really ragged (toothed, ripped, torn, ashy-looking, whatever) edges to the right-side bed exposures, as mentioned in my previous reply to CR. Those looked very familiar. For example, compare this Sol 1305 raw image from Oppy:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...00P2374L7M1.JPG
with this Sol 773 image from Spirit, when it was first on top of Home Plate and about to leave:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...DAP2456L6M1.JPG
Rocks with similarly ragged bedding edges were imaged by Spirit on its way back to Home Plate from Low Hill beginning about 9 months later, and are also common in earlier Oppy images. Do these excessively ragged edges simply represent something unique about wind erosion on Mars, or might there might be another explanation? Obviously, I think there might be, but with a sample size of only 2 sites, it's really difficult to generalize.

-- HDP Don

[mhoward]

More sols, more data, so longer movie.

Update: Here's a higher resolution QuickTime version.

[jvandriel]

The view looking to the South on Sol 1294.

Taken with the R1 Pancam.

jvandriel

[jvandriel]

and the view looking to the North on Sol 1294.

Taken with the R1 Pancam.

jvandriel

[jvandriel]

Here is the first real movie of the dive of Opportunity into Victoria Crater.

Seen through the eye of the Front Hazcam on Sol 1291.

jvandriel

[jvandriel]

and here seen through the eye of the Rear Hazcam on Sol 1291.

jvandriel

[jamescanvin]

Wow. Take a look at the latest MI images. Are those vugs?

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Wow. Take a look at the latest MI images. Are those vugs?

Thats what they look like........... or bird footprints

[djellison]

They do look quite vuggy don't they. Vuggy's a real word, right?

Doug

[SkyeLab]

Vuggy does appear to be a real word:

Well at least in Texas....

From here:

"Carbonate Classification by Vuggy Pore Space"


http://www.beg.utexas.edu/indassoc/rcrl/rc...ublic/vps01.htm