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Curiosity Sol 2697, March 8, 2020
At 07:19:47 UTC Mastcam Right imaged this layered rock, adorned with singular outgrowths and with a particularly rough surface.Many of these outgrowths have a curious “mushroom” appearance, that is, they end in a hemispherical top that is sometimes larger than the connection to the main rock.But what is even more curious is that this “mushroom” structure is also found in the myriad of micro-excrescences that make the surface of the rock so rough.The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing.” In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see.Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02697/mcam/2697MR0141130000404999C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity rover captures 1.8 billion pixel panorama
Assembling more than a thousand photos taken between November 24 and December 1 last year, the Curiosity team has composed this beautiful 360-degree panorama, complete with blue sky! Full resolution image: https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/curiositys-1-8-billion-pixel-panorama/ This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity Sol 2692, March 3, 2020
At 02:37:48 UTC Mastcam Left captured further obvious color and albedo changes on the ground of Mars, in the space of only seven days!Two other previous images showed just as many changes but over three weeks (see https://www.facebook.com/PianetaMarte.MdM/photos/a.1625578140858706/2746979738718535/). The comparison between the three images is really incredible; the green areas are almost totally disappeared and with them some dark stripes, all within a single week!Such dynamism is certainly a solid clue that Mars is far from dead!!!The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02692/mcam/2692ML0140850071003015C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity Sol 2692, March 3, 2020
At 03:28:43 UTC the Mastcam Left has taken some outcrops of stratified rocks from which start some water flows!The two most recent ones can be seen in the upper left corner, but many others less marked (less recent?) are visible a bit ‘everywhere; obviously could not miss the greenish spots!As you can easily verify in the official website of REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station), the meteorological station on board the Curiosity rover (see https://cab.inta-csic.es/rems/marsweather.html), since last January 24 (Sol 2654) the ground temperature (Ground temperature) has begun to rise above the thawing point of the ice (0 ° C) arriving in February to reach and exceed +10 ° C.If we add that the atmospheric pressure inside the Gale crater is always higher than the minimum value necessary for the formation of liquid water (also called “triple point”, its value is 6.11 hPa or 611 Pa), it should be more than logical to attribute these formations to the presence of liquid water!Yet no one talks about it and no one else highlights these photos that for a few weeks appear among the raw images on the official NASA website; there will be a limit to this “media shame”???The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02692/mcam/2692ML0140870041003025C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity captures obvious color and albedo variations on the soil of Mars!
Looking at the image of the previous post I had the impression that it was an area already photographed; in fact I managed to find a photo of twenty-two days before that took roughly the same area, although with a slightly different angle.The comparison between the two images is nothing short of amazing!!!Furrows fading, furrows changing shape, areas becoming darker, green areas becoming brownish, and brownish areas becoming green!Although to explain albedo changes the most obvious candidate is the escape of modest amounts of liquid water, color changes require “something” a bit more complex. I find it very difficult to imagine a non-biological phenomenon that could mimic similar color variations.I am really curious to see if this news will be somehow taken up by the honorable “popularizers” or if it will be avoided like the plague. For more information on the individual images I refer you to their respective posts: Post Curiosity Sol 2663 https://www.facebook.com/PianetaMarte.MdM/photos/a.1625578140858706/2700636190019557/ Post Curiosity Sol 2685 https://www.facebook.com/PianetaMarte.MdM/photos/a.1625578140858706/2746472152102627/ This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity Sol 2685, February 24, 2020
At 16:35:33 UTC the Mastcam Right filmed this ridge of stratified rocks, from which some flows, probably of water, originate.Also in this case the flows are associated with color variations that include different shades and leave little doubt about the nature of these flows!I emphasize that a few weeks ago the ground temperature began to go well above 0 ° C and it is therefore perfectly understandable that for some hours of the day can form liquid water.The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02685/mcam/2685MR0140530010604755C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity Sol 2684, February 23, 2020
At 23:18:52 UTC the Mastcam Right has captured this portion of Martian soil just below the ridge of stratified rocks.You can clearly see several flows springing from the edges of the visible rocks, flows clearly distinguishable both by the visible relief in the soil and by the different coloration!I doubt that anyone would want to venture into explanations that don’t involve the presence of liquid water, but if so be prepared to answer these questions: 1) Why do these landslides always originate from rock formations? 2) Why do they always appear darker than the surrounding terrain? 3) What determines all this variety of colors 4) Why are they only observed during warmer periods? The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02684/mcam/2684MR0140500010604741C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Mars tremors
Mars’ soil shakes like Earth’s: NASA’s InSight probe has recorded more than 170 earthquakes, proving that the Red Planet is geologically active and may have liquid magma with hot spots inside that could be hospitable to life…. Full article: https://www.media.inaf.it/2020/02/24/i-tremori-di-marte/ This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity Sol 2681, February 20, 2020
At 22:17:38 UTC the Mastcam Left shot again the inner rim of the Gale crater, framing the same direction and roughly at the same local time of the picture of two days ago (see https://www.facebook.com/PianetaMarte.MdM/posts/2735382136544962). Comparing the two images, some very interesting differences immediately jump to the eye!Compared to the previous photo, the crater rim appears much clearer and more defined, while the sky appears even more milky.Not bad for an atmosphere that many consider to be almost non-existent!The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02681/mcam/2681ML0140320001002852C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.
Curiosity Sol 2679, February 18, 2020
At 19:03:31 UTC Mastcam Left captured the inner rim of Gale crater, with some nice layered rocks in the foreground.The crater rim appears visibly blurred, probably from haze, and the sky also appears a bit more milky than usual with a hint of clouds on the horizon.Also note the slab of rock seen in profile sticking out of the ground like some sort of “sword in the rock”; spectacular!The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone a reduction of noise due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02679/mcam/2679ML0140280001002760C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.