tom30519

tom30519, 19 days ago to random

Clear sky at lunchtime enabled me to get a photo of the giant, splotchy sunspot on our Sun. That thing is several times the size of Earth, which boggles my tiny mind.

Sony A7R3, 600mm, ISO 200, f/11, 1/500

#sunspot

tom30519, 1 month ago to random

Another eclipse photo, showing the solar prominences around the edge. I am told that these prominences are probably several times the diameter of the earth! Yikes.
#Eclipse

tom30519, 1 month ago to random

Unprocessed photo, taken in southern Quebec. We were extremely fortunate that (a) my house was smack in the middle of the line of totality, and (b) the sky was perfectly clear throughout the event.

Now, with 9x bracketing, I have a mere 639 photos to evaluate, process and merge. But what an experience! Awesome, really.

tom30519, 1 month ago to random

I wasn't exposing for the full corona, but this is what I was able to extract from the shadows. I know it extends far beyond what is shown here, but I was zoomed in too tightly to include it all. 🙃
#Eclipse

tom30519, 3 months ago to random

@stim3on
I see that Ars Technica is using two of your processed images of Ingenuity, and has properly given you credit. Nice. 👍

andrealuck, 3 months ago to space

A new image of #Uranus just dropped on https://mast.stsci.edu !!!

Full size image & More info: https://flic.kr/p/2pwQ1en

NASA/ESA JWST Webb Space Telescope
Title: Uranus high spatial resolution global map from NIRCam
Time: 2024-02-06
Filters: F182M, F410M, F210M, F480M
Proposal PI: Naomi Rowe-Gurney
Proposal ID 2768

Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/AndreaLuck
#Space #Uranus #Astronomy #IceGiants #Space #Solarocks

tom30519, 6 months ago to random

@stim3on @65dBnoise

Have you read "A City on Mars"? I am reading it currently - just getting to the Mars part - it really puts a damper on any enthusiasm to colonize Mars any time soon!

So much for the Jezero Beach Fish and Game Club!

tom30519, 7 months ago to random

After days of constant rain, the late afternoon sun broke through the clouds, putting a spotlight on this maple tree. Still some brilliant fall colour to be had here in Quebec!

tom30519, 7 months ago to random

Psyche has been successfully deployed, solar panels unfolded and it is on its way!

The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) is slated to power on in about 3 weeks. 🤓 😃

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-psyche-spacecraft-optical-comms-demo-en-route-to-asteroid/

tom30519, 8 months ago to random

Do we know whether the core sample taken on Sol 882 ever got capped? I don't see a CacheCam photo confirming that the seal was ever put in place. 🤔

tom30519, 10 months ago to space

Here is the big sunspot (region 3363, bottom edge, just left of centre) that #Perseverance was the first to see, from its current location orbiting the Sun. https://vmst.io/@WestportObservatory/110672664700906956

This view is from my driveway, through morning mist and probably some forest fire smoke.

#sun #sunspot #space

tom30519, 11 months ago to random

Why – and How – NASA Gives a Name to Every Spot It Studies on Mars

NASA has posted, on the Mars Explortation blog, a discussion of the origin of the names used to identify features, down to individual rocks, on Mars:

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9413/why-and-how-nasa-gives-a-name-to-every-spot-it-studies-on-mars/

#Mars2020 #solarocks

tom30519, 11 months ago to random

Boulder Bonanza! Science and Sampling Attempts at the Onahu Outcrop

NASA has also posted, on the #Perseverance blog, an explanation of what happened during the two attempts to obtain a core sample at Ouzel.

It appears that the most recent change of rover location is, in fact, in hope of finding a more suitable, but similar, rock to sample.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/467/boulder-bonanza-science-and-sampling-attempts-at-the-onahu-outcrop/

#Mars2020 #solarocks

tom30519, 11 months ago to random

SuperCam has chosen (directed by AEGIS or an Earth-based geologist?) to have a closer look at this group of smaller rocks, nestled among larger equally interesting-looking (to a Non-Geologist™) rocks.

Credits in the alt text

#Mars2020 #Perseverance #Solarocks

SuperCam close-up image of the group of rocks indicated in the context photo. They are very rough, crumbly looking stones, set among larger, smoother rocks. SuperCam, Sol 812, LMST: 11:24:37 Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP

tom30519, 11 months ago to random

Do we know why there has been a 3-sol silence from #Perseverance, at least as far as downloaded images goes? Not the first time, but still a little disquieting when it happens! 🤔

tom30519, 1 year ago to random

It looks like #Perseverance drove over this little defenceless rock, perhaps on purpose. Now Mastcam-Z and SuperCam are both examining it for possible injuries, I assume. Not sure what the liability laws are like on Mars!

No evidence of laser zapping here, Percy probably thought that rolling over it was enough trauma! 😆

#Mars2020 #Solarocks

A mosaic of two SuperCam images of the same rock. No evidence of laser zapping this time. SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager, Sol 800, LMST: 11:19:17 Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP

tom30519, 1 year ago to random

What’s So Special About Large Grains on Mars?

Writing in the Perseverance rover blog, Eleanor Moreland, Ph.D. Student at Rice University, discusses the scientific possibilities of the most recent abrasion at "Ozuel Falls".

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/465/whats-so-special-about-large-grains-on-mars/

#Mars2020 #Perseverance #Solarocks

tom30519, 1 year ago to random

"Images From NASA's Perseverance May Show Record of Wild Martian River"

In a new post on the Mars Exploration blog, NASA speculates on the whether the rock formations that #Perseverance is finding could be evidence of a fast-flowing river.

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9399/images-from-nasas-perseverance-may-show-record-of-wild-martian-river/

#Mars2020 #Solarocks

tom30519, 1 year ago to random

This is either a new abrasion or the Martian equivalent of a crop circle... 🤔

The edges are not as sharply defined as with the usual abrasions, and the resulting hole doesn't appear to be as deep as with previous abrasions.

SHERLOC_WATSON took a close look at the result (image rotated 180º to correspond to Navcam's point of view.)

Context image: Navcam L, Sol 788, LMST: 12:20:35 Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

SHERLOC_WATSON photo: Sol 788, LMST: 12:39:21 Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

#Solarocks

A close-up view of the same abrasion taken by the WATSON_SHERLOC camera. The bottom and edges of this abrasion are rough, not the usual smooth and radial pattern we've seen in previous abrasions.

tom30519, 1 year ago to random

On Sol 772 #Ingenuity took a photo that included #Perseverance. This was not the first snapshot to include the rover; back on Sol 64, during the helicopter's 3rd flight, Percy is visible in the top left corner.

The two previous flights involved hovering at 3 and 5 metres above the surface, and the downdraft has scattered the sand off Wright Field!

This third flight was the first to include a horizontal component, and the heli flew 100m, according to the flight log.

#Mars2020

tom30519, 1 year ago to photography

Evolution has some explaining to do! 🦃 😆

#photography

tom30519, 1 year ago to photography

Fungus? Mushroom? Alien life form? I've never seen one of these before...

#photography #mushroom

tom30519, 1 year ago to photography

Local courtship in progress:
Boy turkey: "This will impress her!"
Girl turkey: <rolls eyes>

Can turkeys roll their eyes? I'm not sure - not much room in their tiny heads! :rofl:

#photography

tom30519, 1 year ago to random

WATSON has been busy examining rocks and regolith in the rover's new workspace, but it took time out to take a photo of PIXL's calibration target.

This target includes disks to provide X-ray backscatter, and three other responses. The central cross, a chromium line and a nickel line, is for position characterization.

The pseudo-random distribution of black dots is for calibrating PIXL's micro-context camera's laser pattern generator, used for distance measurements.

#Mars2020 #Perseverance