That would be my first guess at the next drive. Spirit will head downhill along the Eastern side of the El Dorado drift field where the sand is thinner (left side of this image) and then Southwest (right side of this image) up the slope and thence South to Home Plate. Note that there appears to be an outcrop of the "homeplate formation" on the left side of this slope. When she gets to high ground she'll hopefully turn around and do a face-on pan of El Dorado.

--Bill

Oh - I'm sure the Homeplate Pan will happen in full 360deg niceness

Doug

Doug...Great image that one of yours...

Do you guys know this site?:

http://areo.info/mer/

A differrent look over the dunes:

http://areo.info/mer/spirit/708/tn/2P18922...L5L7L7.jpg.html

Oh...And a Great 2006!

It's a great site, but two problems...

1) MMB means I dont need to use a site that automates the colour

2) He claims all his images are true colour and they just are not. It's one thing to believe that you're making true colour if you're not, but it's another to tell everyone else that you're making true colour when you're not.

Usefull none the less, but I hate people claiming 'true colour' when it isnt Grrrr

Doug

Thanks, CR! I've been home for the holidays, so it's been easy to update regularly. I'll try to keep the metadata updates coming even though I'm headed back to work - because, of course, I'm as hooked on this stuff as you are. (If you really want to know, I often create the new metadata within minutes of the pictures hitting the ground. For technical reasons, unfortunately, sometimes it's a while before I can upload it to the central repository. It's a glitch in my workflow that I'm looking at fixing.)

Here's a view I like using the additional column they tagged onto the left of the mosaic:

How does he claim to combine the colors?


- Bob

It's detail on his site, but basically the quick-dirty-JPGS ( wrong point to start as they're not calibrated ) and then some maths to merge the three channels slightly differently than a bog standard RGB - but the whole exercise is futile when you start with the JPG's anyway

Doug

Technically, he is correct. In the early days of 'puter graphics, 10 years years ago, a 24-bit (8-bit red+blue+green, 16.7 million colors) was referred to as a "truecolor" image, as opposed to an 8-bit, 256-color mapped image. He is basically combining three 8-bit "grayscale" images Ll456 or L257, whatever) into 24-bit color images. What we like to see are "calibrated color", whatever that is...

--Bill

When you read his site, it's fairly obvious what he's claiming Bill

"On this website you find true color images taken by the Panoramic Camera on each of the Marsrovers Spirit and Opportunity. This is how images would look like, if an astronaut on the surface of Mars took images with a 1 Megapixel digital camera and sent them back to Earth via a planet wide Internet. That means, the colors appear the same as the astronaut would see them."

To that end, he is wrong and intentionally missleading.

It this field, everyone knows what 'true colour' means - there is no ambiguity in his claim, and his claim is based on totally uncalibrated data, that can never ever be used to make any claims on what the colours on Mars are.

If his images were 'true colour' then the bottom of this image
http://areo.info/mer/spirit/708/tn/2P18922...L5L7L7.jpg.html
would be the same as the top of this image
http://areo.info/mer/spirit/708/tn/2P18922...L5L7L7.jpg.html

And it isnt.

Ditto all his images. He has a record of arguing that NASA has always had the issue wrong, so we know what his game is, and it's an unfortunate symptom of stretching all the images before putting the JPG's online that your average image is going to come out fairly blue. Bad Astronomy covers the issue well, and there is another website that does the same.

But he is claiming that imagery is true colour and it simply isnt. Fact. Dont try and defend the guy Bill, as I wont have his sort of misinformation being put forward as accurate in this place.

Doug

A new image turnaround record?

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/fo...B6P1212L0M1.JPG

At the time of posting, that image was taken 1hr 41 minutes ago.

Doug

Hi Doug,

I'd still like to do a blog link to your image from post #123 if that is ok? With credit of course (I had asked already in post #126, but that initial request may have been lost among all the subsequent posts already?).

And now as I'm writing this I see Dilo's great version which I like also, so if I could use either or both?...

I'm glad Spirit stopped here, a most interesting change of scenery.

Not quite. I noted on Dec 20th that there was an image updated on Exploratorium that was taken few tens of seconds over one hour ago on Mars on that date.

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...KCP2547L6M1.JPG

Acquisition time (Earth): Tue Dec 20 08:34:27 2005
Time zone: PST

Exploratorium directory listing:

1P188369194ESF64KCP2..> 20-Dec-2005 09:35 52k


Pretty damn quick nonetheless!

I like this one...
A whole new ground ahead...And a beatiful, clean sunny sol on Gusev Carter!

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/re...B6P1311R0M1.JPG

L2-L7 dodgy-merge of the nose print

Well it's worth a laugh only becouce it's significant, i contend! there are at least two more features like it in the picture, i think. Further away on the left are two similar formations in sort of an cut-out part of an circular pattern. that's what i LIKE to see though, so i'm not trustworthy of ANY interpretations of rocks i guess, but do not all aspiring astronomers and geologists EXCPECT certain features and in fact try to predict them?
And if so, does that not contaminate scientists in that they might sort stuff out that could be the "real gold"?
just thinkin...

Nisse

BTW i have no problem judging myself possibly crazy, but am i the ONLY one seeing faces sticking out of the ground at el dorado? Man i AM getting crazy

Welcome to the nest...

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...indpost&p=33296

Looks like mousse...

Is this down already?...

711 11:30:49 p2536.15. 1 0 0 2 0 0 13 pancam_gallant_knight_edgar_L234567Rall

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/pa...02P2536L7M1.JPG
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/pa...02P2536R1M1.JPG

I think are both from that sequence - well they're both P2536 anyway

Doug

Doug, can you explain me why some of the images are already displayed at exploratorium and don't show up at the MER pancam tracking webpage?...

It's strange to see a movement without any after-drive imagery except hazcams. And sol 711 drive was about 50m!

Which ones?

Doug

The ones you have up there...
Aren't they from that sequence?

I'm lost. The two I linked to are in the PC tracking page as part of that sequence you mentioned. The colour one I did is part of..
711 p2535.15 13 13 0 0 2 28 pancam_shadow_L234567Rall

Other than that - I'm not sure which particular images you mean.

Doug

No point in in trying to make my own version of this one. Fantastic work Doug!


What an amazing place, no abyss, but still .


James

Early Martian practice carvings for the Face.



Speaking of alien faces and such, THE Richard C. Hoagland will be on The Space Show radio program this Thursday. You can have the chance to e-mail or call in your very own comments on his "theories". Details here:

Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006 10-11:30 AM Pacific Time: Richard C. Hoagland returns to The Space Show to discuss the alternative space history. Listeners can talk to Mr. Hoagland or the host using toll free 1 (866) 687-7223, by sending e-mail during the program using dmlivings@yahoo.com, drspace@thespaceshow.com, thespaceshow@gmail.com or chatting on AOL/ICQ/CompuServe Chat using the screen name "spaceshowchat."

No, no, don't feed Google! The voices will follow you!

Bob Shaw

Maybe my mistake, I've away from the tracking page and the last times I went the showed up as thumbnails but now only the code appears, that's why I was asking that, if they are already visible in exploratorium why aren't they seen at the tracking page?
Confused? Me too...

Hey!
I thought we were on the left side of the shadow but, as for sol 711 we were just at it's beggining...

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/tm-..._A708_2_br2.jpg

What lays beyond the sand?

I think we'll get a good view of all of El-D from the home plate area, till then it's just a side-on view I guess.

I still cant figure out where that BIG drive was without any same-sol-post-drive-imaging.

It looks like the saved the post drive imaging for the following sol.

Doug

I thought we had made a great drive for reaching the dunes, like...covering the entire 'abyss' area, but no...
Only now I understood what path Spirit is taking, something like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/ustrax/eldmap2b.jpg

Or here, El Dorado is the dark stripe right in the middle of the Ultreya area:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/ust...eyafrontier.jpg

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...pe=post&id=3100 has it down perfectly imho

Doug

Yeap...Tesheiner leads the way...

Actually - for once, JPL's up to date as well

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/tm-spirit/index.html

Doug

Yes...When I said that I tought Spirit was more to the west I was based on the recent traverse maps, forgot the link...

Movin' south:




'Guess it's time for a new topic soon. Although I'm sure El Dorado discussion will continue.

Edit: Looks like the new topic is up

Today's (sol 712) drive was really short.
I really wonder if that zig-zag was intended or it was an aborted drive...

Sol 711: http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/fo...B6P1212L0M1.JPG
Sol 712: http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/fo...BUP1212L0M1.JPG

Yes I did..
And new images (also PanCam) are arriving now!

How long will the rovers' tracks remain relatively intact? Has anyone estimated the erosion rates for the two rovers?

You're right. The rover seems to be having problems getting over this bit of ground. Check out the sequence of rear hazcam shots (she's driving backwards).

Taking this to the other thread.

Here is my guess for sol 711/712 position.
The base image is from the set of drive-direction pancams taken on sol 707(?).

Click to view attachment (137k)

That's where I figured we were too. The funny shaped rock on the right of that spot seems to be visible in front hazcam images too http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/fo...BUP1212R0M1.JPG .

here is a hand-colored version of the latest navcam shots

(I really like those autumn-evening shots with clear air and long, sharp shadows ...



(click for large version 400KB)

Nirgal, that is an absolutely stunning image, very poetic!

congrats!

New Steve Squyres Update

"we're going to drive hard and fast while the sun shines."

sweet sweet words!

put the pedal to the metal

Exactly. That was the only reference available on 711 pics.
I will probably try to refine that extrapolation using the now available sol 712 images, just to double-check the accuracy of my last update to the route map.

Jim's been busy...


http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solars...103-images.html

Shows how much the raw jpg's are stretched, I had so much more contrast than that, but I just didnt know it.

Doug

Large versions and others
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Mars

Doug

The images of the last 10 days are down and on the JPL website.

Time for some stitching.

Here is a view from Sol 704. Taken with the L Navcam.

jvandriel