Oppy's next destination - the Shoemaker Ridge...
Click to view attachment(3D version here
http://roadtoendeavour.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sr-3d.jpg )
Some more height...surrounded by lots of gorgeous rocks...view right across Endeavour... our first view too, probably, of the Promised Land in the centre of Cape York where the phylosillicates are waiting to be found...
Go get 'em, Oppy!
Edit: looks like Oppy's on the move...
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...84P1211L0M1.JPG
fredk
Oct 4 2011, 02:23 PM
It looks like the 2735 move was towards the west, ie towards Odyssey crater, instead of directly towards Shoemaker ridge (north). Positioning for a drive north, or checking out Odyssey ejecta - we'll find out soon enough.
Edit: my guess is checking out Odyssey ejecta, since directly north looked totally drivable.
Bill Harris
Oct 4 2011, 05:36 PM
QUOTE (Bill Harris @ Oct 2 2011, 08:41 AM)
<snips>
The outcrop Skead Kirkland Lake is one we've drooled at before and is an interesting-looking exposure. Why is there an unusual purplish iridescent sheen to the rock? I'll guess it's a weathering phenomenon, which is the important step in turning silicate rocks into clays. Wouldn't hurt to have a closer look-- not necessarily a full IDD session, but a series of close-in Pancams would be peachy.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r91/wil...19P2398L2M1.jpgOppy moved today, and as suggested, the move is to outcrop Skead Kirkland Lake to the west, which is near Odyssey ejecta. A few sols drooling on that outcrop, then off to the Shoemaker Ridge site for looks at what I'm naming informally on my end "the Allen Formation".
And some interesting imagery in the data pipeline today, so stay tuned...
--Bill
charborob
Oct 5 2011, 12:32 PM
Navcam panorama of Oppy's position on sol 2735.
Click to view attachment
jvandriel
Oct 5 2011, 07:45 PM
The Pancam L2 view from Sol 2735 and 2736
stitched together.
Jan van Driel
Click to view attachment
fredk
Oct 6 2011, 02:13 PM
Looks like a good drive roughly to the north (away from Tribulation) on 2737:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...0M1.JPG?sol2737I guess they only wanted to do some quick imaging at the previous site close to Odyssey.
Bill Harris
Oct 6 2011, 02:49 PM
It looks as though they're heading along the ridgetop upslope of "BostonCreek LarderLake". I was hoping to get a peek at the finely-bedded strata. Next area of interest may be that light-toned rectangular pattern on the way to the "summit crater" with the CRISM clays.
--Bill
Tesheiner
Oct 6 2011, 06:07 PM
Looking north on this image, CY looks almost flat and featureless.
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...CVP1966L0M1.JPG
jvandriel
Oct 6 2011, 06:12 PM
The Navcam L0 view in the drive direction on Sol 2737.
Jan van Driel
Click to view attachment
fredk
Oct 6 2011, 07:51 PM
This looks like a precariously perched rock:
Click to view attachmentBut my guess is the lower left side of the rock looks like background when it's really part of the rock.
ngunn
Oct 6 2011, 09:26 PM
QUOTE (fredk @ Oct 6 2011, 08:51 PM)
a precariously perched rock
Hey, let's go and give it a shove!
I know, I've got this irrational urge to look under rocks. I think it comes from playing on the beach as a child.
Matt Lenda
Oct 7 2011, 02:39 AM
QUOTE (Bill Harris @ Oct 6 2011, 06:49 AM)
It looks as though they're heading along the ridgetop upslope of "BostonCreek LarderLake". I was hoping to get a peek at the finely-bedded strata. Next area of interest may be that light-toned rectangular pattern on the way to the "summit crater" with the CRISM clays.
--Bill
Yeah, we're boogeying on out to Shoemaker Ridge as fast as we can. We need to do a detailed in-situ survey of north-facing slopes and plan out some lily-pads to take us through the Winter solstice (03/31/11).
Among other things.
-m
PDP8E
Oct 7 2011, 03:01 AM
10x precariously perched rock (noise cancel on stretched jpg ... argg)
Click to view attachment
Bill Harris
Oct 7 2011, 04:52 AM
Ah, I remember reading about the need to winter-over on a north-facing slope this year, so a boogie makes more sense than a mosey. Whatever we zip by now can be revisited on the return trip to Tribulation...
--Bill
CosmicRocker
Oct 7 2011, 05:58 AM
QUOTE (PDP8E @ Oct 6 2011, 09:01 PM)
10x precariously perched rock (noise cancel on stretched jpg ... argg)
It looks like Nessie to me.
mhoward
Oct 7 2011, 06:02 AM
Here's the
Sol 2737 Pancam mosaic anaglyph. Watch out for that shallow crater, Oppy.
Explorer1
Oct 7 2011, 06:45 AM
At the far north-east corner is that odd straight 'cut' or 'slash' in the side of CY, right? Would be nice to look at while wintering over (assuming I didn't miss a consensus on it being something completely ordinary).
vikingmars
Oct 7 2011, 09:52 AM
QUOTE (Explorer1 @ Oct 7 2011, 08:45 AM)
At the far north-east corner is that odd straight 'cut' or 'slash' in the side of CY, right? Would be nice to look at while wintering over (assuming I didn't miss a consensus on it being something completely ordinary).
==> Are you speaking of "Dagger Valley" ?
Click to view attachment Click to view attachment
fredk
Oct 7 2011, 02:13 PM
It looks like another substantial drive northish on 2738:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...0M1.JPG?sol2738This should put us in a good spot to image the north-facing slopes of Shoemaker ridge.
mhoward
Oct 7 2011, 03:37 PM
This isn't precisely accurate (unless the rover is hovering), but sort of pretty:
Wow... every time you do that I get a real slap-across-the-face reality check... looking at the pictures on their own, with no rover for scale, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking Oppy is much, much smaller, or the landscape is much more, I don't know... epic? You plonk her down amidst the dunes and dust and suddenly everything seems smaller. Anyone else feel that?
climber
Oct 7 2011, 07:09 PM
I agree Stu...but mind...it's gona be "worse" with Curiosity!
mhoward
Oct 7 2011, 07:21 PM
QUOTE (Stu @ Oct 7 2011, 11:00 AM)
Anyone else feel that?
I've always found it incredibly difficult to judge the scale of things the rovers are seeing, which, thinking back, is why I put Doug's model in my program to begin with. But if one extends the view to the right, I think it's epic enough
fredk
Oct 7 2011, 07:57 PM
Shoemaker Ridge looks pretty subtle from this side:
Click to view attachment
ngunn
Oct 7 2011, 09:54 PM
Really beautiful (and obviously well constructed) 3D view. Never mind the ridge, look at the vista.
Explorer1
Oct 8 2011, 12:16 AM
Yes vikingmars, that's what I meant.
Does it have an official name yet? It certainly stands out enough.
vikingmars
Oct 8 2011, 12:57 PM
QUOTE (Explorer1 @ Oct 8 2011, 02:16 AM)
Yes vikingmars, that's what I meant. Does it have an official name yet? It certainly stands out enough.
No official name yet : this is the name we gave this feature at Societe Astronomique de France, because it looks like a dagger made out of hard rock by cavemen as seen oftenly in our paleontology museums...
mhoward
Oct 8 2011, 04:50 PM
Sol 2738 Pancam mosaic
right anaglyphI recommend the anaglyph. According to the data Opportunity has already driven well into this mosaic and I can't wait to see what she's seeing now.
Love these low Sun angle views...
Click to view attachment
fredk
Oct 8 2011, 10:25 PM
My estimate of our location after the 2739 drive:
Click to view attachmentIt looks like a long drive (over 70 metres!). We should be able to map out the next group of north-facing slopes from around here. And judging from the rear hazcam view, we should now have a direct view of the putative clay-bearing region. Can't wait for the nav/pancams...
QUOTE (fredk @ Oct 8 2011, 11:25 PM)
And judging from the rear hazcam view, we should now have a direct view of the putative clay-bearing region. Can't wait for the nav/pancams...
I think you're right... two new pancams down so far, one (L) shows, I think, those 'rectangular markings'. Little clearer when stretched...
Click to view attachmentSo Oppy sailed right past the Shoemaker Ridge and is going after the Good Stuff, eh?
mhoward
Oct 9 2011, 06:17 AM
QUOTE (Stu @ Oct 8 2011, 10:55 PM)
two new pancams down so far
That's still before the drive. Opportunity is now supposed to be on the left side of that image, with what might be a pretty interesting view.
Looks like she's moving right along, yes.
They were *before* the drive? Sorry, should have checked the image reg. Anyway, even better, we should get a really good view of The Promised Land in the next batch...
jvandriel
Oct 9 2011, 08:39 AM
The Navcam L0 view on Sol 2738.
Jan van Driel
Click to view attachment
jvandriel
Oct 9 2011, 08:52 AM
and the Pancam L2 view on Sol 2738.
Jan van Driel
Click to view attachment
Oersted
Oct 9 2011, 02:56 PM
The slopes up ahead look promising for opportunities to tilt the rover before the impending winter. When is it more or less that we need to do that, btw?
Thx for the stitches!
MoreInput
Oct 9 2011, 06:37 PM
Funny, instead of slowly driving north to search for the clays they rush in highspeed over Cape York. Cool, and that will give every day new views of this place.
I'm really interested how the clays and phyllosilicates look from the bottom! Will they have a distinct visible structure or are they just as rocks as we all have seen the last years?
fredk
Oct 9 2011, 07:53 PM
Yeah, my impression is they want to map out any north-facing slopes now, while they still have plenty of power to drive, in case they need them this winter. And the closer to the clays the better. So it looks like science is on hold for now. But that may change as soon as they decide they've found good slopes.
QUOTE (Oersted @ Oct 9 2011, 03:56 PM)
When is it more or less that we need to do that, btw?
They don't know yet if they'll need to park at all. It depends on the dust. Check out the latest
PS update for some comments about this.
Of counsel
Oct 9 2011, 08:12 PM
By my estimate, we're now on the southern edge of the phyllosilicates. Compare Tesheiner's map for 2739 (today) and the phyllosilicate signatures (red) in CRISM:
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
mhoward
Oct 9 2011, 08:15 PM
A single Navcam image has made it to the web - one which isn't particularly illuminating, LOL. If it helps (probably not), the right side of that image is facing North.
Here's where the tracking data says the rover is:
climber
Oct 9 2011, 10:42 PM
I'm a bit confused not to stay "lost". On Eduardo's map, I have no doubt North is "UP". So, I see East facing slopes on pictures and no North facing slopes unless Oppy is decending at this time. Can somebody tell me what's wrong with this?
fredk
Oct 9 2011, 11:25 PM
I'm not sure if this will help, but generally the slopes are east facing here, although there are some "knobs" that might have north-facing slopes of varying degrees, that I've circled here:
Click to view attachmentI'm thinking those are the areas they want to map carefully.
Bill Harris
Oct 10 2011, 02:23 AM
Interesting place, this Ridge of Shoemaker. FIrst loook, a different particle size and shape distribution in the soil, and look st the rounded cobbles.
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P0600L0M1.JPG--Bill
mhoward
Oct 10 2011, 02:35 AM
Quite a view.
Sol 2740 360x80 degree Navcam
left right anaglyphEdit: tweaked the anaglyph a bit
CosmicRocker
Oct 10 2011, 04:24 AM
QUOTE (Bill Harris @ Oct 9 2011, 08:23 PM)
... and look at the rounded cobbles. ...
Those are curious, aren't they?
fredk
Oct 10 2011, 04:38 AM
Yep - I don't recall a group of globby cobbles quite like that.
This frame's looking farther up CY towards the main clay signature area:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...0M1.JPG?sol2740
mhoward
Oct 10 2011, 04:54 AM
Where do you even start with a place like this? Will be interesting to see what happens next.
Edit: Well, start with some Pancam, hopefully
mhoward
Oct 10 2011, 05:13 AM
Here's a
version of the 360x80 degree Navcam anaglyph with image sharpened and focal point a bit farther out. (I'm fascinated by the topography to the north-northeast.)
Bill Harris
Oct 10 2011, 06:05 AM
Curious, yes. Note that the cobbles all have a light area on one end. First thought was "ah, a specular reflection", but in an L0 Navcam, light=reddish so it's an "ocher" spot. Given the orientation, they seem to be in the "downwind" direction so it's in a wind-dead zone and light particles tend to collect and adhere or beind downwind, there is less aeolian abrasion and erosion. And in fredk's Navcam view, look at the ripple-forming sand plus the rounded cobbles, with a mix of particles like that, this is a area of active weathering and erosion. Unique area, and we've just now gotten here.
I'm hoping for a sidetrip to the spot with those rectangular lineations (which I'm informally calling "Secular City" til we get an official name) for a quick peek and close-in color views.
That fascinating topography is in the direction of the dark-filled crater, "summit crater", informally.
--Bill
Tesheiner
Oct 10 2011, 06:48 AM
QUOTE (mhoward @ Oct 10 2011, 04:35 AM)
Quite a view.
Sol 2740 360x80 degree Navcam
left right anaglyphEdit: tweaked the anaglyph a bit
The left navcam mosaic in polar form.
Click to view attachment
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please
click here.