Flawless second day on Mars for Curiosity, high-res pic (including R/B 3D), page 14

reply to post by twistedlogic

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I'm completely in agreement on the rational cuts, but I would hardly consider cutting NASA and science funding rational.

I think the most rational cuts would be to National Defense, ( Defense is important, but to much of what they include in these figures are offense, which WE DO NOT NEED ) welfare/unemployment, and Medicaid and Medicare. Call me crazy, but i think medicaid and medicare should be COMPLETELY disposed of. (At least for the time being) ( Why won't this ever happen? These projects line their pockets and keep the masses content and happy )

It wasn't even until '65 that medicaid and medicare were enacted. ( When did our debt start to explode exponentially? The 70's, coincidence? ) Medical insurance and medical care is a luxury, and it is simply one we cannot afford at the moment. It is not the government's responsibility to insure healthcare to all of its people. Where's the government on insuring that i have a multimillion dollar home, private planes, frequent vacations, and other luxuries? It accounts for practically 1/3 of the federal budget.

And because i know the argument is bound to come from you or someone else, no science is not a luxury. Well i guess you could consider it a luxury in a stagnant nation, but if progress is your objective then it is absolutely not. Science and research are at the heart of every form of progress. But alas, progress is not their objective, profit is....

Here's a link to our federal spending if anyone's interested. en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by sitchin

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In time my good sir, but this is not a sight seeing expedition. They picked the location because of specific data and materials they would like to research. Sadly, their budget doesn't allow for sight seeing missions at this point in time.

Anyone seen this?

reply to post by MajesticTwelve

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If I'm not mistaken that's the cloud of dust created by the falling Skycrane.
Thanks for sharing the video.

I like seeing scenery with hills and the sky of Mars, so can any1 tell me, is this true color picture?



The atmosphere looks paler than our sky but still blue, where is the blue from? On the Earth the sky's blue is the reflection of particles from the oceans but here? I've always thought the sky of Mars is orange as in the other pics.

Also what is the black, lake-like looking is this a crater or some cooled down magma?

Originally posted by Imtor
The atmosphere looks paler than our sky but still blue, where is the blue from? On the Earth the sky's blue is the reflection of particles from the oceans but here? I've always thought the sky of Mars is orange as in the other pics.

That's not why our sky is blue. Our sky is blue simply because that wavelength of light is easily scattered in our atmosphere. It's called Rayleigh scattering. If Mars' atmosphere was completely dust free, it too would have a blue sky. Probably a dark blue due to how thin the atmosphere is.

reply to post by jra

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Then why is the sky on Mars more orange, it is the light's wavelength yes but the light is dependent on what's below, i.e an ocean or dust as on Mars.

reply to post by Imtor

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Then why is the sky on Mars more orange, it is the light's wavelength yes but the light is dependent on what's below, i.e an ocean or dust as on Mars.

No. The color of the sky has nothing to do with "what's below". It has to do with the way light is scattered. The sky on Mars is colored the way it is (not really orange, more like "butterscotch") because of the dust in it. Air makes the sky blue. Since there is little air and much dust, the Martian sky is not blue.

If it weren't for the dust the Martian sky would be dark blue, almost black. Like Earth's sky looks at 100,000 feet.

www.webexhibits.org...

Originally posted by Imtor
reply to post by jra

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Then why is the sky on Mars more orange

Its orange because that was the backdrop they chose. Kidding couldn't resists

Originally posted by Imtor
I like seeing scenery with hills and the sky of Mars, so can any1 tell me, is this true color picture?



The atmosphere looks paler than our sky but still blue, where is the blue from? On the Earth the sky's blue is the reflection of particles from the oceans but here? I've always thought the sky of Mars is orange as in the other pics.

Also what is the black, lake-like looking is this a crater or some cooled down magma?

I also really like this picture. My opinion on the dark "lake-like" formations we are seeing is that they are the blue-ish colored sand dunes that can be seen in satellite imagery across Mars. I am more interested in what materials make it appear so blue. Should be interesting once the Rover strolls over there.

After bothering to do some research, I figured it out, it is Basalt. Which is actually quite common on planetary bodies with volcanic history. Now either its basalt flows from the lava flows inside this crater in its history or its an accumulation of Basalt dust from across the martian surface, which has formed dunes after becoming trapped inside the crater. Either way, still beautiful.

^ This picture I linked, the sky is actually bluish,there are lots of bodies on Mars darker rocks, which clearly come from somewhere else, it could be a crashed meteor too, I can't see if that's a crater though.

reply to post by Phage

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You mean because of the thinner atmosphere it would look as dark as it does in high altitudes on the Earth for the same reason?

reply to post by Imtor

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This picture I linked, the sky is actually bluish,

Because the colors have been adjusted.

This image shows the colors modified as if the scene were transported to Earth and illuminated by terrestrial sunlight. This processing, called "white balancing," is useful to scientists for recognizing and distinguishing rocks by color in more familiar lighting.

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

You mean because of the thinner atmosphere it would look as dark as it does in high altitudes on the Earth for the same reason?

If there wasn't the dust in the atmosphere, yes.

reply to post by Phage

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Ok thanks, that answers my question in the first post if the picture has been modified cause indeed, never seen Mars surface with such color of the sky.

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