[X] My Assistant

[Harry]

The probe should be hovering on the point on the axis of rotation of ITOKAWA as close to the surface as possible. Then it would save the fuels and time by omitting unnecessary up-down movement to-from the "Home Position".

[Bill Harris]

This is fantastic.

One question. In Bruce's post earlier today, at the site http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/snews/2005/1102.shtml#pic001, in the image in Figure 6, Release 151101-4 I noticed something odd. On the left edge of Itokawa there appears to be a vertical shadow that looks like an accidental shadow from studio lighting on a model. In no way, shape or fashion am I thinking "conspiracy", but everytime I see this image I think "hmmm....". What am I actually seeing?

--Bill

[tasp]

This is fantastic.

One question.  In Bruce's post earlier today, at the site http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/snews/2005/1102.shtml#pic001, in the image in Figure 6, Release 151101-4 I noticed something odd.  On the left edge of Itokawa there appears to be a vertical shadow that looks like an accidental shadow from studio lighting on a model.  In no way, shape or fashion am I thinking "conspiracy", but everytime I see this image I think "hmmm....".  What am I actually seeing?

--Bill

Also on figure 6, the 'balancing rock' on the righthand side of the image has (what looks like) a crater on it, facing downward. Is the balancing rock a peeled off piece of the surface with out dust and debris on it?

[Ames]

This is fantastic.

One question.  In Bruce's post earlier today, at the site http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/snews/2005/1102.shtml#pic001, in the image in Figure 6, Release 151101-4 I noticed something odd.  On the left edge of Itokawa there appears to be a vertical shadow that looks like an accidental shadow from studio lighting on a model.  In no way, shape or fashion am I thinking "conspiracy", but everytime I see this image I think "hmmm....".  What am I actually seeing?

--Bill

The sun is lighting Itokowa from below and to the right. You are seeing the limb shadow, and beyond that, the lit underside.
Think of the peanut crossed with a banana, look at it end on and light it from a lamp near your hip.

I personally like Fig 5 with all the large boulders stuck into the main body - looking like standing stones.


Nick

[Phil Stooke]

No, sorry, that's not it. Bill is pointing out the oddly dark left-hand edge of the image. I noticed this as well. If I had a low contrast image and I wanted to reproduce this effect I would make a rectangular selection, feather the edges (using Photoshop terminology) and enhance the contrast of the selection... but with the edge of thec selection cutting through the limb of the object. So I don't know exactly what hapopened, but I'd guess somebody was enhancing the raw image for display, and selected a rectangle instead of the whole image, not noticing it was just on the limb. It might have been feathered to avoid a sharp black to dark grey line in the black 'sky' around the image. In short, a processing artifact. It's easy to fix on a saved copy.

Phil

[ElkGroveDan]

So I don't know exactly what hapopened, but I'd guess somebody was enhancing the raw image for display, and selected a rectangle instead of the whole image,

I have found in the past that photoshop artifacts as you have described above are an easy giveaway to retouched images. One way of discovering them is cranking up the brightness and contrast and alternating back and forth, looking for the perimeter of such selection areas.

I don't want to clog up Doug's bandwith, with 7 or 8 stages of of adjusted images. However in this case I just don't see it.

The more I look at this, I could have a lot of fun inserting the statues from Easter Island, but I think it would get me banned from here.

[dvandorn]

Good one, Dan... though it would be easier (and perhaps a bit more subtle) to simply "plant" a perfect obelisk somewhere amongst the protruding rock slabs...

-the other Doug

[ElkGroveDan]

Good one, Dan... though it would be easier (and perhaps a bit more subtle) to simply "plant" a perfect obelisk somewhere amongst the protruding rock slabs...

-the other Doug

You really shouldn't use the words obelisk, extraterrestrial, spacewarp, or parallel universe on a domain that contains the word "spaceflight". Such terminology tends to lure the loons here from the search engines.

[mike]

Surely with that post you are being ironic, ElkGroveDan.

[djellison]

Some posts deleted - and one official warning issued.

Behave

[Bill Harris]

Thanks, Phil, that shadow must be a processing artifact. Now I can shrug it off.

Oops, I apologize: I didn't mean to get "them" stirred up by mentioning the "c" word.

BTW, in that JAXA news blip, there are globes that show the global slope and gravity, and this takes care of my curiosity about "where is down". Seems that this is indeed an MCEscher world...

--Bill

[Bob Shaw]

You really shouldn't use the words o*elisk, extra*errestrial, space*arp, or pa*allel u*iverse on a domain that contains the word "spaceflight".  Such terminology tends to lure the loons here from the search engines.

Er... ...I think you maybe, just, er...

Bob Shaw

[edstrick]

everybody chant now: "Hoaxland! Hoaxland! Hoaxland!"

[Toma B]

There is new update...of course you have to understand Japanese...
Update

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

Alas, my Babelfish translation indicates that this new "update" is just a message urging people to hurry up and send in their submissions for the contest to decide JAXA's unofficial name for the first Hayabusa landing site -- as described in http://www.hayabusa.isas.jaxa.jp/e/index_31.html . No news at all on actual developments.