Mars Bedrock Image. Is this normal?

Hi folks. A couple questions for anyone who may be more knowledgeable on this subject than I am.
This may be nothing but I thought I would ask here just incase.

I was perusing the NASA website and just wanted to know if this is normal for an image mosaic?
(Please forgive me if these are stupid questions, I know what some of you guys can be like...lol)

NASA have posted an image of a piece of bedrock and I noticed along the top of this rock there is a blurred strip that goes all the way along.
I've taken a screenshot.


It only goes along the top part and not the bottom or anywhere on the edges. I was just curious as to whether this is normal or not? I know nothing about image mosaics.

It looks like it has been plonked over another image with rocks in the background.

My second question and it may well be related to the blurred strip. The rocks in the background seem to be repeated. Is this also normal?
I have taken a screenshot of this too.


I can't seem to be able to upload the original image, the page refreshes after uploading but it does not show up. So here's the link. NASA

This last photo is pretty obvious. It clearly shows a tiny alien, hiding in a hole in the rock with a laser pen.
but just for clarification, why the red dot? I'm assuming it's an image artifact?


Cheers.

A source would have been good, so I found one:

www.jpl.nasa.gov...

and here's another with some info as to how it was processed:

www.flickr.com...@N04/18728795604/

The repeated rock is there thanks to the rover moving slightly along the rock face to capture the images - the foreground changes but the relatively distant background stays roughly the same.

Not sure about the blurring effect, but as the images are processed on board I would say they are a product of the software trying to deal with a sharp boundary between the sharp foreground and blurred background.

Other one's obviously an alien with a laser pen.

Both backgrounds are repeating, that could be from the rover cruising along snapping pics of the bed rock and just catching a different angle of the background and it repeated when they stitched it together. That's the logical explanation. The blur line is definitely odd and in both pictures, just not as noticeable in the second one.

As for the third pic my guess is a winking T-800 "mars rovah.. Come with me if you want to live.."

originally posted by: onebigmonkey
A source would have been good, so I found one:

www.jpl.nasa.gov...

and here's another with some info as to how it was processed:

www.flickr.com...@N04/18728795604/

The repeated rock is there thanks to the rover moving slightly along the rock face to capture the images - the foreground changes but the relatively distant background stays roughly the same.

Not sure about the blurring effect, but as the images are processed on board I would say they are a product of the software trying to deal with a sharp boundary between the sharp foreground and blurred background.

Other one's obviously an alien with a laser pen.

The source is on the thread.

I had thought it was due to the way an image mosaic was made. I was unsure and knew it would be easier to ask here.
Thank you for clearing that up for me.

I didn't want to post a 'NASA PHOTOSHOP IMAGE!!!' thread without getting some info on the way they make the mosaics first. lol

a reply to: SilentE

Such interesting rock in that area...
Yes there are many places fake sand is added to the pictures to hide interesting things.

The blurred area is a result of using "focus merged" photos.
You can see one of them and read about it here.

originally posted by: Char-Lee
Yes there are many places fake sand is added to the pictures to hide interesting things.

originally posted by: ArMaP
The blurred area is a result of using "focus merged" photos.
You can see one of them and read about it here.

Thanks for the link.
I'm using my phone now so i'll give it a read when I get the laptop off the missus.

Well NASA probably employs more animators and multi-media folk than scientists.

Here are my two mosaics, the first with the normal photos, the second with the focus merged photos.

(click for full size)

(click for full size)

originally posted by: ArMaP

originally posted by: Char-Lee
Yes there are many places fake sand is added to the pictures to hide interesting things.

Hugs ArMap

keen eyes and a little embrace "ignorance" because what is called "ignorance" is sometimes what leads to truth!