Time for a quick update in this thread:
My previous scale estimations
(see here) may not have been as accurate as
I thought they would be. After looking through MSL images from other Sols, I noticed that the point of reference ("Edgy Hill Landmark") may as well be
the landmark which had been coined "POINT LAKE" by NASA/JPL.
I also checked the original panorama released by NASA/JPL in November 2012
(see
here) and think their description would fit to the location names both on the maps and in the terrain. Below is a projection of the probable
area-tags onto the Sol 64 panorama that shows POINT LAKE as a distinct rock formation roughly resembling a cliff or embankment:
And the same view with
'more context':
Click here for a
larger version of the image above.
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And for comparison, here goes Curiosity's traverse path through Sol 130:
Click here for the full-size image of the traverse path provided by
NASA/JPL.
And
here goes another link to a route-map on UMSF.
When taking all this into account, Curiosity was probably
much closer to POINT LAKE than I initially thought while the Rocknest panorama
had been acquired during Sols 64-72
(click here for the panorama on Gigapan). This
also means, that the intriguing 'rock formations' (or ship anomalies) that I located in that area would be much smaller than previously estimated.
But independent of the actual scale, I still think those features or formations are difficult to explain (eg. as ventifacts), because of their
geometrical alignment and a variety of similar shapes, angles and other features that are not only found in this area, but in many places across POINT
LAKE, ROCKNEST and SHALER.
If anyone can confirm these location or area tags, please let me know. Or in case you have explanations for any of those peculiar formations
(for example this), I'd be happy to discuss this more in detail ...
... and I promise to keep an open mind!
edit on 1-4-2013 by jeep3r because: spelling
).
) sceptical about your interpretation, so I am trying to see if there are
other photos from different angles that may give us a different perspective.
