It's that time of year again -- time to look back and figure out what were the absolutely most fabulous images of 2006. As I did last year I'm going to be producing a feature for the Society's website with 20 or so pictures that are not only beautiful but also mark significant events in planetary exploration. There are a couple that are obvious choices, like the Saturn eclipse mosaic and the HiRISE view of Oppy approaching Victoria. I want to try to hit all the missions that were active this year if possible.

So here's your chance to suggest your favorites. I can't include them all of course but with y'all's help I should be able to develop a diverse list, and maybe come up with a couple that will surprise people.

--Emily

I think a couple of the images from here and/or here might be appropriate

Yes, but which?

Okay, from MSSS: this one, this one, and this one.

From HiRISE: since everyone else is going to vote for either Opportunity or Spirit, I'll recommend VL1.

I second http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2006/1...674_14color.jpg - it's a beauty.

I think some images of Aerogel and Stardust@Home obs have to go in there....

I'd also add this one - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images...s121e06040.html -

this
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/r...s/2006/2006/41/

and this... Red jnr
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/r...s/2006/2006/19/

Also - grab a sexy pic of the Atlas V New Horizons launch...that think went off like a...a...er... rocket?



Also - the Pancam guys have just finished the Duck Bay.... James' is very good - but when you have the proper data to hand...well...you can't go wrong..

http://pancam.astro.cornell.edu/pancam_ins...t/duck_bay.html


Doug

What - nobody nominated backlit Saturn?


EDIT: DOH! Missed it in your OP, Emily.....

Or scalloped rings?


Or Venus Express?


I never thought I'd say it, but there's more to life than Mars!

Apologies if the embedded images are too large - I'll edit them out if people complain.

Edited to remove NON PLANETARY related images. Sorry, cosmologists.

OK - a few more

Stardust comes home


The Beard of Stars...


I love this one of Cliffbot with Jake Maule from your own site...


And I second the New Horizons launch, or maybe it's first glimpse of Pluto....


And finally, the photojournalistic efforts of yours truly to break the new rover design at the 2006 JPL Open House:


OK, maybe that last one, not so much.... But that kid did get pretty close to Centaur and Athlete!

I know I'm a HiRISE person, but my favs have yet to be released (Except for the lander pictures). But for another signifigant picture, of another planet (Moon actually),

Which reminds me - the CFHT image of the SMART-1 impact should be in there.

Thanks heaps for the suggestions. I'm surprised though that only one MER image has been suggested so far. Surely the folks on this forum can have a little debate about what image(s) should stand for the last year's worth of Spirit and Opportunity activity besides the Duck Bay pan...though I guess a Low Ridge Haven pan for Spirit is inescapable...

--Emily

Oh my... quite the firestarter aren't we?

My list is heavily biased towards Cassini (and also it's probably too long) since I've been following it more closely than the Mars missions.

To me, Cassini's backlit Saturn wins by a wide margin (actually it may be the planetary image of the century so far, at least as far as beauty is concerned):
http://ciclops.org/view_event.php?id=56

There are some more Cassini images.

Saturn's south polar storm:
http://ciclops.org/view_event.php?id=57

Some of the highly spectacular Cassini images showing high-altitude clouds and cloud shadows, e.g. these two:
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2327
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2324

Rhea hiding behind the rings:
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2100

Enceladus' jets:
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2011

Beautiful views of satellites silhouetted against Saturn's vast backdrop:
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2256
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=1953
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=1920

The radar images of Titan's lakes.

Plus many more.

'None-Cassini' images
New Horizons' first image of Pluto

A New Horizons launch photo

An MGS image showing new gullies and another one showing a new crater (from the press conference a few weeks ago).

The MRO HiRISE image that appeared on the cover on The Planetary Report Nov/Dec 2006. Actually most or even *all* of the MRO images are good candidates.

The MRO HiRISE image showing Viking Lander 2 (since its location wasn't exactly known, unlike the other successful landers).

Some of the recent MRO CRISM and SHARAD stuff (I haven't had time to have a proper look at it yet).

Let's not forget Uranus:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/47/

Some of the Opportunity mosaics of Victoria, perhaps some of the early ones showing Oppy *really* had arrived there.

Spirit's McMurdo panorama.

Plus a lot more I'm sure I'm forgetting (HST images of Jupiter's new red spot, Venus Express images, probably the recent 'hot' ones, radar images of Mercury mentioned here, SMART's impact etc.).

I keep forgetting to check this corner of the forum. With the MER accomplishments, HiRise, Cassini, MGS observations of recent changes, and other wildly successful missions, this has been quite a fantastic year for space exploration. It will be quite difficult to choose the best few. I think you are going to need a large gallery.

The backlit Saturn images were amazing, but there were many awesome views from the bright side showing atmospheric banding overlain by rings and shadows of rings, sometimes with interspersed moons and their shadows that truly exhibited a fascinating view of projected geometry in space.

As for our beloved rovers, the view of the century had to be Spirit's long baseline stereo of the inner basin, but that was taken in late 2005. For Spirit 2006, various views of El Dorado were pretty nice, but I think the first image of Home Plate's cross section, when textures like the upper cross-laminations and the coarser lower layers became visible, would be appropriate. For Opportunity on the other side of the planet, an image showing the maize of drifts it miraculously struggled through to reach it's ultimate goal would be inspiring. I nominate one of Nirgal's colorizations. It would be difficult to leave a view of Victoria out of this collection, but which is best?

One last thought regarding the rovers...include something from the under appreciated MI. Along with the RAT, the MI turned out to be quite a useful tool. Don't forget the festoons. Spirit returned the most diverse set of MI images. Between the two rovers, there were some pretty significant MIs that were sent home. It would be difficult to choose a favorite. Oh, and the dust devils...

I am so lost in the huge HiRise images that I only have a vague idea of my favorite crop. This has been quite a spectacular year for space exploration. I know that I haven't been able to keep up with it all.

hi,

How about phobos/deimos transits as seen from MER

backyard astronomy from a geologist robot on another planet in its spare time!

ciao bella!

I'm tempted to nominate today's CICLOPS picture of the day. Just when you think the pictures from Saturn can't get any more amazing, they do.

Looks like it's that time of the year for the year-end-best-picture thingy, e.g., Cassini Photo Contest II and the December 18, 2006, issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology is the "Art and Photography Issue" for 2006.

And, of course, Saturn beat out the ivory-billed woodpecker for the cover of the December 2006 issue of National Geographic.

Interestingly, the winners under the Art Space 1st Place through 3rd Place are in the exact reverse order of those listed under "Space" for the American Society of Aviation Artists Awards - Exhibit 2006; scroll down about halfway.

In other words, in AW&ST Norm Siegel's "Blue Sunset" was 3rd, Connolly's "Looking Back" was 2nd, and McCall's "Splashdown" was 1st.

Hehe...
Emily, are you overloaded? We have many more suggestions just waiting in the wings.

That "Blue Sunset" is beautiful... many happy memories looking at that...

some nice ones of the Mercury transit:

http://spaceweather.com/mercury/

edit:
The Cassini website has made some pre-selection:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/poll/index.cfm

That backlit Saturn is a must!

But there need to be more than one from the Saturn system, I was inclined to suggest one radar image from Titan's lakes.

But people in general wants colourful images so the triplet image "Mapping Titan's Changes" found in the link remcook provided in the previous post are a very good choice.

Talking colourful are we? Well we have seen and discussed the Victoria crater colour image including the rover, yet that one also are a must.

And yes the Uranus spot and Venus polar vortex are good suggestions from you others - I second those.

And please have a look at this one, its recent yet I think its really amazing!

Space science involved humans also, and I might be biased, something from any of the spacewalks by Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang. 4 spacewalks for Curbeam and 3 for Fugelsang in a single mission.
I feel one image from any of those spacewalks need to be in the set.

Not overloaded at all -- you guys are just producing a high-quality pool of stuff for me to pick from!

--Emily

Not sure what image would be appropriate, but the 100 AU crossing of Voyager 1 happened this year - another first for unmanned spaceflight. I would say that was a significant event....
Are you allowed to use "artist impressions?"

Here's a significant image from 2006, especially when we think of the year of the long and suspenseful trip along paths and between the dunes through most of last year.



taken from Paved Path for Opportunity

Nature gets into the act in the December 21, 2006, issue. For those without access, the "space-related" images were: a Keck Observatory image of Eris; the now-iconic first HiRISE image of Opportunity; an image of Earth taken from ISS; an image of the March 29, 2006, solar eclipse taken from Libya; a NASA image of the ozone hole over Antarctica; and, believe it not, the Mars Express HRSC image of the "Face on Mars" taken in September.

EDIT: Oops. I forgot the link.

I can't imagine what'll happen when HiRISE takes a picture of the "face" (I wonder if we'll do a stereo...), it's bound to be interesting...

Emily has them up on the PS site now:

The Year in Pictures 2006

I think she did a great job making choices from a year chock full of UMSF goodness! I am happy that the string of pearls made the cut

OK, way too late, I know, but I'm slightly surprised that no-one mentioned the 'propellers' in Saturn's rings. Seems significant to ring/disc dynamics to me.