[X] My Assistant

[djellison]

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/spirit_p067.html

Strange things - possibly one of the moons going overhead?

Doug

[djellison]

We're having the same debate in two places at the same time

Here's my 'other' explination

Meteroites? I doubt it - the statistical chance of any one navcam
image spotting a meterite must be tiny. More likey the streaks you
see are alpha particles winging their way thru the CCD during the very
long exposure.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/spirit_p067.html

Pancam imagery taken roughtly the same time. It's observation of
phobos or deimos as far as I can tell

I'd suggest that there are normal star trails in the pancam images -
but also much shorter streaks in the same style of the longer navcam
streaks - perhaps because the metalic casing for the pancam lens
assembly acts as a shielding barrel so that only particles with a
higher angle of incidence to the CCD can strike it - thus the shorter
trails - whereas the 'stubbier' lens assembly on Navcam allows a range
of particles from a wider angle to strike the CCD - hence the longer
streaks. Basically - we're seing the streaks that the apollo
astronauts saw in their eyeballs arnt we?

Doug