[X] My Assistant

[Stu]

Sorry, this discussion has got me smiling like an idiot, thinking about one of my fave scenes...

Wil Smith punches downed alien fighter pilot in the face. "Welcome to Earth!"

Aah, interstellar diplomacy at its best. None of that namby-pamby "Don't Interferre" Prime Directive stuff..!

And ok, maybe ID4 wasn't 100% scientifically accurate, but it still gives me thrills and goosebumps whenever I see it - and a ridiculous urge to punch-the-sky and shout "Yes!" when the mothership blows up!

[Greg Hullender]

What *I* liked the best was that scene where they plugged their computer into the aliens' machine and not only did the connector fit, the alien computer supported TCP/IP.

At least I finally understood where some of those weird folks in the standards bodies were coming from!

--Greg :-)

[lyford]

You mean like this?

These last few weeks make me wish Oppy had MSL's "remote sensing in situ" suite - easier to get zoom close ups and ChemCam without endangering the rover on funky terrain.

[djellison]

You mean the Zoom that has been, as of the last reports, descoped from Mastcam?

Doug

[lyford]

I do. But I haven't been able to check in as frequently over the last few weeks and so may have missed some bad news...

[stevesliva]

The mothership was presumably in orbit around Earth, so just barely have the water hitting the top of your head. All the pieces would essentially look parallel as they entered the atmosphere.

Like Mir, Columbia... can't find Skylab photos.

[Kye Goodwin]

Re D Burt's reply 386, Agreed, and a couple of further points:

It is reasonable to guess that the ubiquitous large scale layering visible from orbit all over Meridiani might be in some way be connected to the ubiquitous small scale layering that Oppy has imaged. However, there is no suggestion in orbital images that the large scale layering is dune-like.

The dune-like bedforms visible from orbit elsewhere on Mars show no layering and none of the bedforms encountered by either rover appear to be layered. Granted, this could be more absence of evidence than evidence of absence, but still there is no direct evidence of any layered bedforms on Mars.

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Interesting image from the MI camera:

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P2966M2M1.JPG

Looks almost like a f0ssi|ised amm0nite. lol

[Aussie]

Like Mir, Columbia... can't find Skylab photos.

When an orbiting object breaks up the debris form parallel trails such as for Mir: http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp...entry_photo.jpg

But detonate a nuke inside an object and the debris will pretty much follow a spreading spherical path. Take into account the initial velocity of the orbiting object and those debris that entered the atmosphere would indeed seem to spread from a central point.

[disownedsky]

Interesting image from the MI camera:

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P2966M2M1.JPG

Looks almost like a f0ssi|ised amm0nite. lol

That is interesting, and the more I stare at it, the less I think it is pareidolia. Is there an an obvious explanation I am missing?

[fredk]

The circular pattern you marked is just from the "wheel within a wheel" in the rat grinder tool - nothing unusual here.

[centsworth_II]

Maybe this is a new grinding mode? Don't the 'wheels-within-wheels'
normally orbit around the center of the RAT as they grind? Are these
circular impressions seen because the smaller grinding wheels' orbiting
motion has been stopped in this instance? I don't recall seeing these
patterns in the past. Or is it because MI's have been taken after grinding
but before post grind brushing and this is not normally done?

[Aussie]

Are these circular impressions seen because the smaller grinding wheels' orbiting
motion has been stopped in this instance?

With the grind encoder defunct and the brush bent I would attribute the grind pattern to their work around.

[centsworth_II]

It didn't take long for me to find past MIs with the same
sort of pattern. It's just that this time there is a great contrast
between the clean small grind wheel circles and the very
dusty look of the rest of the larger, overall RAT circle.
I don't know if the dusty areas are that way because they
took the MIs before brushing, or if the brush does not work
well enough to do a better job of cleaning.

[Doc]

Maybe you should repeat your diagnosis for Cabo Frio, Doc.

Im working on it. Should be ready by tomorrow. The problem is trying to find a good image to work by with. Thats why I make my own mosaics(they are very *crude* mosaics but they serve the purpose).

I am particularly intrigued by the prospect of Oppy ever finding clay deposits beneath all that sulphate-rich sandstone. Any news on that anyone?