Radar And Mariner 10, Best possible mapping, pre-Messenger Options

[JRehling]

[...]

[hendric]

On a more abstract level, I often wonder how much variation there is between different sets of eyes. I have gotten into long debates with people who are looking through my telescope and could swear it has a cool hue while others swear it has a warm hue. I have noticed that on many nights, it looks cool in my left eye and warm in my right eye. Perhaps this is what gives me my opinion on color.

It's quite common, apparently. I notice even during normal lighting that one of my eyes is slightly warmer than the other. Another thing could be contacts, most are tinted slightly blue and could give a cooling effect. In talking with my optometrist, most people do have a difference in perceived color between their eyes, but never notice it.

[nprev]

My brother is both color-blind (red-green, which apparently enhances contrast perception) and an optometrist; I'll ask his opinion, this is interesting.

[peter59]

Mariner 10 - First encounter with Mercury.


Image FDS0025326 - one day before closest approach (87 day of year 74)


Image FDS0025337 - one day before closest approach (87 day of year 74)

[tedstryk]

Here is a more distant approach view showing a lot of the uncharted territory.

[peter59]

Mariner 10 - First encounter with Mercury (March 29, 1974, 2046 UT)


Image FDS001341 (March 30, 1974, 1215 UT)

Image FDS001220 (March 30, 1974, 1200 UT)

[JRehling]

[...]

[tedstryk]

For the record, since the Mariner-10 outbound mosaic on the photojournal is so small, I have worked for a while (off and on for nearly a year and there are still problems) on creating a large mosaic. Mariner-10 images are so damn hard to work with. Also, with the wild camera pointing, annoying holes show up. I used a low resolution color overlay. I have raced to make a presentable version, since in a few days no one will care.

I don't know that Messenger will solve the problem entirely - they still, for example, use the hideous over-exaggerated color views from the Voyager Saturn encounters even with Cassini data available.

[JRehling]

[...]

[edstrick]

I never understood why they didn't include that data <and from the flyout> in the maps, low-rez as it is. They've always sort of pretended that it didn't exist, other than the outbound terminator visibility of Mozart crater.

[tedstryk]

Here is the outbound version.

[tedstryk]

Here is a combined version with both inbound and outbound coverage.

[JRehling]

I never understood why they didn't include that data <and from the flyout> in the maps, low-rez as it is. They've always sort of pretended that it didn't exist, other than the outbound terminator visibility of Mozart crater.

The only USGS map of Mercury I've ever seen is not really an albedo map. It's an airbrush that show topography as lit from the side, sometimes creating assumed relief where it almost surely must be, but not necessarily as observed by Mariner 10. There is a bit of albedo involved, too (mainly crater rays), but largely just craters on a fairly uniform gray background. So albedo data from farther away would not really add anything to the map such as they rendered it.

BTW, I bought the post-Voyager maps of the Galileans that came from USGS, which were also airbrushed, and quite fun for their time.

[tedstryk]

Still, there is a lot of beyond the limb topography that they left out as well. They definitely mixed high and low resolution datasets on the Voyager maps.

[tedstryk]

Here is another set, this time in color.



Also, here is a neat little Mariner 10 shot of Jupiter (moons are greatly brightened).