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The Mars "Thread" Thread
MER raw images ^
Posted on 02/20/2004 11:46:05 AM PST by ElkGroveDan
At NASA's Thursday JPL briefing on the Mars rovers, the issue of an unusual object in one of the photos from the microscopic imager at the Opportunity landing site was discussed.
On SOL 19, several images taken with the microscopic imager of the soil and the "mars berries" appear to show a hair-like object. Steve Squires with NASA has speculated that the airbags bouncing around that crater may have shed a whole lot of fabric and this could simply be a stray thread. Squires also suggested that as they move away from the bounce-down sites they will continue to look for these objects. He noted that if we continue to see them, well then we'll have to reconsider what we are looking at here.
For your interest, here is one of the pictures that shows a thread (or hair, or root, or beastie). You probably can't see it in this smaller shot, but if you click on the photo it will take you to an even larger image. Look in the upper right hand corner, immediately below the largest pebble in that corner.
Anyone care to speculate? Is this a thread from the airbag fabric? Is it something else?
TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: mars; mysteries
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To: js1138
Here's a close-up I made. It seems to have some width, kinda like an anti-aliased line in computer graphics rendering.
To: LibWhacker
that picture is out of focus and it's hard for me to tell.
To: ChrisCoolC
I think it could go either way. At any rate it's interesting that the closer we looks at Mars the less we're sure of.
23
posted on
02/20/2004 1:09:14 PM PST
by
js1138
To: ElkGroveDan
That's a very thin thread - how does it compare to material that could have came from the rover, airbags, etc.?
To: Fitzcarraldo
Yep, it's crazy they aren't getting the focus right in so many of these pics. Check out
this one. I think the "threads" stand out a little better, even though the picture is still out of focus. If I didn't know better (for now, I'm buying the thread theory), I'd say they're roots.
To: LibWhacker
So "threads" are showing up not only where Opportunity landed, but also 120+ meters from Spirit's landing site.
But that thing was bouncing all over the place.
To: ElkGroveDan
It's John Carter's hair. He has to be gray by now. ;)
To: Dan Evans
That's true. But not close to the site where the threads were found, which is halfway to Bonneville Crater. Someone, I think it was Squyers (sp?), said in regard to the Opportunity threads, that if NASA keeps seeing them as Opportunity moves away from the landing site, they'll have to re-evaluate what they are. The question is, how far is far enough? Will they be saying the darn things are "probably" threads on the very last day? If so we need a better landing method that doesn't contaminate such a wide area!
To: LibWhacker
Will they be saying the darn things are "probably" threads on the very last day? If so we need a better landing method that doesn't contaminate such a wide area!
No kidding. This is a mess. They could have come off the parachute, or it could have been shedding those fibers as it was spinning and bouncing. The wind could have spread them for a mile.
To: Dan Evans
I hope to high heaven they had the foresight -- and the money -- to send along a meteorological package. That data will be invaluable in modelling the dispersal of contaminants.
To: xm177e2; XBob; wirestripper; William Weatherford; whattajoke; vp_cal; VOR78; Virginia-American; ...
If you'd like to be on or off this MARS ping list please FRail me
31
posted on
02/20/2004 6:23:57 PM PST
by
Phil V.
To: ChrisCoolC
Earlier in the day I used MS photo editor to enlarge the image. Now I look at it in Photoshop and it still has the thread-like appearance when highly magnified.
I am wondering if there are different algorithms for rendering jpegs.
32
posted on
02/20/2004 6:29:05 PM PST
by
js1138
To: ElkGroveDan
Anyone care to speculate?I think I just found one of my missing buttons.
33
posted on
02/20/2004 6:30:56 PM PST
by
TomServo
("What a day. I invented Gainesburgers and I didn't even mean to!")
To: ElkGroveDan
My guess: this famous Martian inhabitant has been shedding:
To: ChrisCoolC
99% of the "Mars Mysteries" could have been 'Solved' by a Rudimentally trained "Astronaut."
We SHOULD have sent Humans to Mars LONG AGO!!
Doc
To: RightWingAtheist
To: js1138
I'm using Netscrape, and can see it.
To: Doctor Stochastic
Sky Lob
38
posted on
02/20/2004 7:50:49 PM PST
by
mikrofon
To: Phil V.
Thanks for the ping!
To: js1138
I believe it is an artifact caused by the way Internet Explorer renders the image And everybody at NASA, JPL, and on the web uses IE?
I'll take what's behind curtain number 2, Bob. :-)
40
posted on
02/21/2004 5:04:15 AM PST
by
Ophiucus
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