Saturday, September 1, 2012

High-Res Interactive

High-Res Interactive Panorama Lets You Stand on Mars With Curiosity

his 360-degree view shows the craggy rim of Gale Crater towering behind the rover and the looming precipice of Mount Sharp — the rover’s ultimate destination — standing in front. The images from this mosaic were taken by Curiosity’s 2-megapixel MastCams and released on Aug. 27. Danish photographer Hans Nyberg used NASA’s data to create the immersive version seen above.

Best viewed in full-screen mode, the interactive panorama is adjusted to show how the Martian surface would appear if lit under Earth-like brightness and colors. This helps geologists at JPL identify important features that they might otherwise miss if looking at the images as they appear on Mars. Nyberg also added a bit more sky to the interactive version. You can see the original raw panorama corrected for lighting conditions on Mars (warning: large file).

Curiosity has had a busy early mission on Mars, testing its various systems, wheels, and laser-shooting capabilities. It has now started to head eastward in the direction of its first target, an area named Glenelg.

more @ http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/high-res-curiosity-panorama/

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