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Images from Mars
Feb. 22nd, 2004 11:50 pmA mailing list I'm on recently had a big kerfluffle about the 'Martian Bunny'. (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/002/1P128372948EFF0200P2211R2M1.HTML for those who missed it). Someone was convinced it was some sort of life, and JPL deliberately ran over it to hide the fact. There're apparently whole websites devoted to such theories. More sober opinion holds that it's debris from the bounce bag. :)
Meanwhile, the little robots turn up interesting things right and left.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/028/1M130672724EFF0454P2933M2M1.JPG is one of today's images from Opportunity. The big shiney sphere at upper left is what catches the eye at first, especially with the smaller hemisphere sticking out one side. Now look below that, about one and a half sphere diameters, to the rock with the broken end. It looks to me like that white semi-circle is formed of a sort of 'herringbone' pattern. Now look to the left, about as far as the rock is below the sphere. There seem to be a graduated series of little white elongated spheroids attached to the side of the crevice. If you look straight down from the broken-ended rock, at the bottom of the frame, there's three or four equally-spaced eroded looking bumps in the rock as well. All very interesting.
It pisses me off that we can pour 80 billion dollars down the rathole to rebuild Iraq, but can't afford to send some astronauts to Mars.
Meanwhile, the little robots turn up interesting things right and left.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/028/1M130672724EFF0454P2933M2M1.JPG is one of today's images from Opportunity. The big shiney sphere at upper left is what catches the eye at first, especially with the smaller hemisphere sticking out one side. Now look below that, about one and a half sphere diameters, to the rock with the broken end. It looks to me like that white semi-circle is formed of a sort of 'herringbone' pattern. Now look to the left, about as far as the rock is below the sphere. There seem to be a graduated series of little white elongated spheroids attached to the side of the crevice. If you look straight down from the broken-ended rock, at the bottom of the frame, there's three or four equally-spaced eroded looking bumps in the rock as well. All very interesting.
It pisses me off that we can pour 80 billion dollars down the rathole to rebuild Iraq, but can't afford to send some astronauts to Mars.
