Full Version: Post Block Island Meteor Studies (The Western Route)
Neither, me hearties; 'tis a breaching Leviathan, Moby Rock! (ahrrrr!!!)
...this time the hunt will be not bloody.Could that be:
Are they in restricted sols now? There's no drive today.
It's the weekend. You'll rarely see drives on a Sunday, if there was a drive on Friday.
Without a drive on Friday - then they can plan a drive scheduled for Sunday after remote sensing on Friday and Sat. But if you drive on Friday- you don't get post-drive imagery in time to write a sequence for the Sunday.
Sharon is the queen of such scheduling - but I think I've got it right.
Without a drive on Friday - then they can plan a drive scheduled for Sunday after remote sensing on Friday and Sat. But if you drive on Friday- you don't get post-drive imagery in time to write a sequence for the Sunday.
Sharon is the queen of such scheduling - but I think I've got it right.
QUOTE (Tman @ Nov 1 2009, 10:23 AM) 
Could that be:
I did a similar exercise on this. I took the pancams from both sols 2050 and 2051 and measured the relative angle between the "fresh crater" and the "New Island".
Click to view attachment
Here's a zoom on the intersection of both heading lines...
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... and a very suspicious black dot in the vicinity.
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"Could that be?" Yes, I think so.
That identification of "new island" looks very reasonable, but as we've seen it can be real tough to ID rocks near the limit of hirise resolution...
The new Planetary Report is in. Here are a couple of highlights for Oppy:
The new Planetary Report is in. Here are a couple of highlights for Oppy:
QUOTE
"Both Shelter Island and Mackinac Island are iron-nickel meteorites, both of them heavily weathered, with a very spongy and porous type texture and along with Block Island are 1AB iron meteorites,” summed up Squyres... “We feel pretty confident that all that weathering took place after the meteorites landed on Mars," Squyres offered. "It didn't happen out in space and it didn't happen on their way through the atmosphere."
QUOTE
"The right front wheel current has been in family with all the other wheels," Squyres confirmed. "The strategy we're using seems to be going well and we're going to assess whether we can stretch our legs a little more. We've been limiting drives to 70 meters so we can gather a good, consistent dataset for wheel behavior. But once we feel we've done that, we'll see if we can stretch out our drives and make them a little longer."... As November dawns the plan ahead is simple said Squyres: "keep on driving."
That new report by AJS Rayl is, as usual, absolutely jam-packed with information, and extremely well-written, putting to shame the efforts of many of the so-called "science reporters" who write for the mainstream media and go on TV to report on space missions. There's a lot of love for UMSF, too! 
Ms. Rayl's articles are THE definitive MER summary status reports, IMO.
Congratulations to Stu, Astro0, and Tesheiner for their featured work!
Congratulations to Stu, Astro0, and Tesheiner for their featured work!
QUOTE (nprev @ Nov 2 2009, 01:11 AM)
Ms. Rayl's articles are THE definitive MER summary status reports, IMO.
Yes, definitely ! Every month when the new report comes out, I'm overwhelmed by the breath of coverage and attention to detail in it ...
Very very much appreciated
QUOTE
Congratulations to Stu, Astro0, and Tesheiner for their featured work!
Ditto !
And my favorite quote from the new report:
QUOTE
... it roved on, returning toward the end of the month to its most recent prime directive: "Drive, drive, drive," as Squyres summed it up.
Finally Trinidad: https://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...OLP1882L0M1.JPG
Relatively shallow but also a rather destructive impact.
Full agree! It is very satisfactorily.
Relatively shallow but also a rather destructive impact.
QUOTE
Ms. Rayl's articles are THE definitive MER summary status reports
Full agree! It is very satisfactorily.
QUOTE (Tman @ Nov 2 2009, 01:48 PM)
Finally Trinidad: https://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...OLP1882L0M1.JPG
Relatively shallow but also a rather destructive impact.
Relatively shallow but also a rather destructive impact.
Thanks for the heads-up. Now I can make a second version of the mosaic taken during sol 2047.
Click to view attachment
I thought they took a color Pancam panorama of Trinidad, did I miss something of have the images not come down?
Interesting photo. I note that unlike many of the craters we've seen, it seems to disrupt the dunes; ejecta fragments are embedded in the surface of some of the surrounding ones.
This suggests a couple of things:
ce
This suggests a couple of things:
- It's a relatively recent impact.
- Confirms that the dunes have been stationary for a long time.
- Some of the fragments embedded in the dunes appear to have been worn down level with the dune's surface, so erosion still occurs, but not erosion of the dunes.
ce
Stereo view of Trinidad:
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QUOTE (Floyd @ Nov 2 2009, 06:29 PM)
I thought they took a color Pancam panorama of Trinidad, did I miss something of have the images not come down?
AFAIK, only the thumbnails were downlinked.
Taking a break from wrestling with Kaguya... I recently made a mosaic of HiRISE browse images of Opportunity's region, with a 1 km grid starting at Eagle crater. Here it is - 50% reduced from the original size - to help provide a sense of where we are and where we are going.
Phil
Click to view attachment
Phil
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Those dunes at the Southernmost edge of the image have got to be positively massive. Maybe someone with more patience than I can apply a separation vs. height formula to that area and come up with how tall they must be based on the conditions we've observed elsewhere in Meridiani (or else measuring the shadows might work I suppose)
The latest official route map labels the area around sol 2042-3 "Gravel Bank" instead of "Grand Bank". Could it be another naming change?
That's a question for Tim53.
Back to sol 2054, I can already see today's mobility data. If the data is accurate and the rock position as pointed by Tman is correct we might see it almost in the same line-of-sight as the crater.
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Waiting for the pictures...
Back to sol 2054, I can already see today's mobility data. If the data is accurate and the rock position as pointed by Tman is correct we might see it almost in the same line-of-sight as the crater.
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Waiting for the pictures...
There it is!
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... and I'm having a bit of fun with Google Earth! Compare the view as seen by the navcam with the one using GE.
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... and I'm having a bit of fun with Google Earth! Compare the view as seen by the navcam with the one using GE.
Click to view attachment
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In these new pancams, "new island"/"shark" appears to be associated with many smaller rocks/cobbles surrounding it. This could turn out to be an interesting area. And according to the route map and Tman's location, one more 70 metre drive should pretty much get us there!
Maybe it's a chunk of sandstone ejecta thrown out of 'fresh crater'
Wow! Great sight!
Shark Island...definitely!
If this one is originating from the crater ahead, I'm curious to see the differences to the ones Oppy found so far.
Shark Island...definitely!
If this one is originating from the crater ahead, I'm curious to see the differences to the ones Oppy found so far.
Indeed - and a great 3D there - 'depth' discernable almost out to the (close) horizon.
What is that white object to the right of Sharkey and a bit closer? Another 70 m drive would miss it so I may never know . . .
What is that white object to the right of Sharkey and a bit closer? Another 70 m drive would miss it so I may never know . . .
Yeah - it's UV bright (R1) , but IR dark (R2) - it matches the sky very well actually. I hope we don't sail past it.
Going out on a limb, my guess is "shark" is surrounded by many smaller meteorites similar to B/S/M Island. We're catching sky reflections from some of the pieces. This could turn out to be quite a candy store. Or not. We'll know next drive.
QUOTE (fredk @ Nov 4 2009, 12:13 AM)
Going out on a limb, my guess is "shark" is surrounded by many smaller meteorites similar to B/S/M Island.
If that's true, all you meteorite haters do know I'm going to be happier than a dog in a lamp-post factory, don't you?
QUOTE (ustrax @ Nov 3 2009, 11:37 PM)
Shark Island...definitely!
QUOTE (ngunn @ Nov 4 2009, 12:12 AM)
What is that white object to the right of Sharkey and a bit closer? Another 70 m drive would miss it so I may never know . . .
QUOTE (fredk @ Nov 4 2009, 01:13 AM)
Going out on a limb, my guess is "shark" is surrounded by many smaller meteorites similar to B/S/M Island.
Sorry mates, but it has been oficially named "Marquette Island".
02055::p2579::23::3::0::0::3::2::8::pancam_Marquette_Island_LOCO_L67R1
Tesheiner: Sorry mates, but it has been oficially named "Marquette Island".
There are lots of great ísland' names in that group, so plenty more meteorite names to be had.
Places like: Bear Island, Birch, Boot, Coryell, Crow, Dollar, Echo, Goat, Goose, Government, Gravelly, Haven, Hill, Island No.8, La Salle, Little La Salle, Lone Susan, Long, Penny, St. Ledger and Strongs Island.
Best of all there's Rover Island!
There are lots of great ísland' names in that group, so plenty more meteorite names to be had.
Places like: Bear Island, Birch, Boot, Coryell, Crow, Dollar, Echo, Goat, Goose, Government, Gravelly, Haven, Hill, Island No.8, La Salle, Little La Salle, Lone Susan, Long, Penny, St. Ledger and Strongs Island.
Best of all there's Rover Island!
I'm waiting for the Inner and Outer Hebrides to get a look in - the Scottish islands. Mull, Iona, Staffa, Coll, Tiree, Islay, Jura, Skye, etc etc.
There should definitely be a Craggy Island.
Click to view attachment
Ah go on NASA... go on, go on, go on...
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Ah go on NASA... go on, go on, go on...
QUOTE (djellison @ Nov 4 2009, 02:15 AM)
I'm waiting for the Inner and Outer Hebrides to get a look in - the Scottish islands. Mull, Iona, Staffa, Coll, Tiree, Islay, Jura, Skye, etc etc.
You have my vote for Islay!
QUOTE (Astro0 @ Nov 4 2009, 09:55 AM)
There are lots of great ísland' names in that group, so plenty more meteorite names to be had... Dollar... Best of all there's Rover Island!
Please, if there is a force, or a power, or a supreme being of some sort Out There, DON'T let them name a meteorite on Mars that. Every time I see it I'll be reminded of Teresa Bazar and David Van Day simpering over each other on Top Of The Pops. In pink. With glitter falling from the ceiling. And a soft focus filter on the camera.
Shudder.
"Rover Island" is a no-brainer, but surely has to be reserved for a truly stunning meteorite.
QUOTE (djellison @ Nov 4 2009, 02:15 AM)
I'm waiting for the Inner and Outer Hebrides to get a look in - the Scottish islands. Mull, Iona, Staffa, Coll, Tiree, Islay, Jura, Skye, etc etc.
I was happy you mentioned the Hebrides ... here's to Barra !
I've not been there - but I have been to Arran, Mull, Iona, Staffa, Islay & Jura. I was only a kid, but I can still remember just how starkly beautiful they are.
or Lindisfarne Island
I spent a winter on Lewis (72-73), on the Eye Peninsula, as one of the infamous 'hippies of Shader'.
Phil
Phil
Doesn't look like we moved? Rear Hazcams look fine--not digging holes.
Looks like a drive of just a few metres:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...G7P1211L0M1.JPG
I can't see any science targets here. Judging from the treads, the soil looks soft here. Maybe wheel currents topped max allowable levels and so the drive was aborted?
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...G7P1211L0M1.JPG
I can't see any science targets here. Judging from the treads, the soil looks soft here. Maybe wheel currents topped max allowable levels and so the drive was aborted?
Looks like aborted drive because of too much slippage.
Another try one meter west might be OK to avoid the fluffy dune.
Another try one meter west might be OK to avoid the fluffy dune.
Looks like we moved about four or five meters. The little "twist maneuver" seen in the front hazcam is where we stopped at the end of yesterday's drive. (Compare the bedrock to the left with yesterday's image.)
If I had to guess I'd say that they set their heading for today's drive at the end of yesterday's and then thought better of it. Maybe they decided it would be safer to advance a few more meters before moving along the new heading, perhaps to get past some potential obstacle.
If I had to guess I'd say that they set their heading for today's drive at the end of yesterday's and then thought better of it. Maybe they decided it would be safer to advance a few more meters before moving along the new heading, perhaps to get past some potential obstacle.
And now heading for the nearer rocks first?
Really looking forward to pics of Marquette from closer...
I've written about the naming of Opportunity's meteorites here, if anyone wants a look...
http://cumbriansky.wordpress.com/2009/11/0...ats-in-a-name-2
I've written about the naming of Opportunity's meteorites here, if anyone wants a look...
http://cumbriansky.wordpress.com/2009/11/0...ats-in-a-name-2
This one is for tosol's journey and goal of Opportunity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjwyC_Mm_v4
Check the album cover...
http://www.mrmoe.com.br/mmhome/images-blog...nding-stone.jpg
EDITED: This must be one of my favourite images so far...
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...G7P1973L0M1.JPG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjwyC_Mm_v4
Check the album cover...
http://www.mrmoe.com.br/mmhome/images-blog...nding-stone.jpg
EDITED: This must be one of my favourite images so far...
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...G7P1973L0M1.JPG
Yes, ustrax, I think you've nailed it with that album cover!
QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Nov 3 2009, 11:10 PM)
There it is!
Yippee!
If I was the very first finder (beside Oppy), couldn't it be this time named after me the finder?QUOTE
Yeah - it's UV bright (R1) , but IR dark (R2) - it matches the sky very well actually. I hope we don't sail past it.
Wow! Such polished hard thing flat and big enough that it can mirror the sky(brightness) in that distance?
I don't think it needs to be especially polished or flat. A relatively clean surface of an iron meteorite could easily look like the "bright rock" up ahead. I think we just happen to see a large surface that's been exposed to the wind and so is quite dust free. Another drive (hopefully!) and we'll know for sure...
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