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"One of the prime areas of research for Mars planetary geologists is the region on Mars where the geography appears to transition from the southern cratered, rough terrain to the northern low, generally smooth, and flat plains. It is theorized by some scientists that the northern plains were once an ocean, probably shallow and probably intermittent, but wet nonetheless for considerable periods..."

Microsoft has made the Kinect motion detection sensor available for use in commercial and non-gaming scenarios for some time, but for some reason it hasn't really caught on. We've heard next to no stories about people using it, although it could always be that they are keeping quiet for a competitive advantage. But a military contractor has come up with something that has the U.S. Marine Corps interested. The Augmented Reality Sand Table is currently being developed by the Army Research Laboratory and was on display at the Modern Day Marine Expo that recently took place on Marine Corps Base...

Topographic Map Symbols from U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey

JERUSALEM - A mathematical puzzle that baffled the top minds in the esoteric field of symbolic dynamics for nearly four decades has been cracked — by a 63-year-old immigrant who once had to work as a security guard. Avraham Trahtman, a mathematician who also toiled as a laborer after moving to Israel from Russia, succeeded where dozens failed, solving the elusive "Road Coloring Problem." The conjecture essentially assumed it's possible to create a "universal map" that can direct people to arrive at a certain destination, at the same time, regardless of starting point. Experts say the proposition could have real-life...

SINGAPORE (DPA): A U.S. Navy vessel is surveying the seabed in the Malacca Straits' shipping lanes off Indonesia's Aceh province to determine if there have been any depth changes from the massive earthquake and tsunami, a published report said on Wednesday. No problems have been reported so far by the nearly 4,000 commercial ships that have transited the straits since the Dec. 26 tsunami, which devastated coastal communities from Malaysia to Somalia. A warning to mariners from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGIA), published in The BusinessTimes, said, "Major changes have likely occurred in the topography of the coastline and...

Link post (provided to the News/Activism section of FR to draw attention to a post in the Chat section; any discussion should be directed to the posted thread) Geology Picture of the Week, End of Summer 2003 3-for-1 deal!

1. New images of Ol Doinyo Lengai (and videos)! Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, Tanzania (the world's strangest volcano) 2. New Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data for the Guiana Highlands: The SRTM site has high-resolution TIFFS of the new world data and the Guiana Highlands, but the file sizes are several MB, watch out. 3. And since we're on the subject of the Guiana Highlands, here's the most famous landmark in the area: Angel Falls

Link post: Geology Picture of the Week, June 29-July 5, 2003

Click on this image to see the large version, which is very impressive!

A preface to the image below: an unsung major success of a partnership between NASA and DoD was the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which mapped the topography of about 80% of the Earth's surface (mostly missing polar regions) to an unprecedented accuracy. These topographic data are used by DoD for mapping, strategic planning, and targeting. The just-released image below shows how incredibly accurate this data is: in the link provided in the comment, you can actually download the entire 208 MB high (and that means HIGH) resolution TIFF. The image below shows the barely-detectable rim of the Chicxulub impact structure...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 January 20 Io at Sunset Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: How tall are mountains on Jupiter's moon Io? One way to find out is to view them at sunset. Tall structures facing the Sun are then better-lit and cast long shadows. The above image highlights Mongibello Mons on the far left, a sharp ridge rising so high it would rank among the highest mountains on Earth....

Link Post: Geology Picture of the Week, July 14-20, 2002

These two images show exactly the same area, part of the Kunlun fault in northern Tibet. The image on the left was created using the best global topographic data set previously available, the U.S. Geological Survey’s GTOPO30. In contrast, the much more detailed image on the right was generated with data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which collected enough measurements to map 80 percent of Earth’s landmass at this level of precision. In a new partnership with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, data from the SRTM are now being shared with researchers around the world to improve...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 27 Carving Ma'adim Vallis Credit: R. Irwin III (CEPS/NASM,UVa), T. Maxwell, A. Howard, R. Craddock, D. Leverington Explanation: Just as erosion from the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon on Earth, a river of flood water may have carved Ma'adim Vallis, one of the largest canyons on Mars. Researchers have presented strong evidence for such a scenario based on elevation data recorded by the MOLA (Mars...