New Horizon Cameras Options

[tedstryk]

Sadly, the noise added to the Deep Impact images will probably render multispectral imaging of the nucleus useless due to noise amplification during the deconvolution process.  There may well be no usable color information with the original s/n of the camera, but all we may now see is the brownish overall color described in postings from the DPS meeting.

What did MRI get? I don't think I've seem images from it pre-impact near closest approach. Perhaps its data could be used to look for large scale variations.

[djellison]

I think the MRI, as with the impactor camera ( they were exact copies I believe) were sans-filters, the Cometary equiv of Navcam.

Doug

[um3k]

I think the MRI, as with the impactor camera ( they were exact copies I believe) were sans-filters, the Cometary equiv of Navcam.

Doug

No, the MRI has filters: http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/mri.html

[djellison]

Oo - my bad, thought it was a straight copy. Perhaps it was just a copy of the electronics and optics - but had the filter wheel dropped in for the flyby.

Doug

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

I've heard nothing to suggest that they didn't get color-filter images through MRI. I may recheck that recent article in "Space Science Reviews", which mentiones among other things what kinds of geological color observations they had hoped to make.

[tedstryk]

In addition, if they can get what appear to be color variations in the HRI pics, then MRI could be used perhaps to verify that they aren't artifacts. If they are not artifacts, HRI might be able to tell us more precise positions of regional boundaries given the MRI "ground truth."

[RNeuhaus]

...be the other problem-of-the-decade, besides out of focus cameras.

Does the photograph camera wear an automatic focus in order to solve the problem of out of focus? Every modern camera has an automatic focus. Here, I am naive with the images...You can correct me if I am wrong.

Rodolfo

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

The article on Deep Impact imaging of geological features on Tempel's unimpacted surface is at http://www.beltonspace.com/bsei_web_page_g000000.pdf . Specific references to color imaging are on pages 2, 3, 6 and 9. The impression I get is that they could still get quite a bit of useful color data -- if, of course, there are any significant color differences to be found.

[djellison]

Well - I saw a reasonable colour image at the BAA conference - it showed a general brown colour, but there were different shades across the surface, some brighter areas etc.

Doug

[edstrick]

Bruce Moomaw: ".... -- if, of course, there are any significant color differences to be found."

That's the rub. Small bodies tend to have vanishingly small color variations and it's very easy to go from noisy but usable data to unusable data on small scale features.

While overall color or spectral properties tell you about bulk composition, variations tell about chemical variations, or to a lesser extent physical property variations...they tell you about processes that made the surface, distinct from what you're told by feature morphology.