Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Click to see one of the coolest space images ever.
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Super-cool!

12:59 PM
Anonymous said...

FAKE! Why is it that we only ever see little white dots? jk

2:52 PM
Mac said...

JK--

The reason we see "little white dots" is because that's what a parachute and its payload look like from orbit. Why the immediate (and quite asinine) assumption that we're looking at a "fake")?

10:21 PM
Anonymous said...

Don't like that one, JK? Here's an even cooler, much clearer shot:

http://tinyurl.com/3rpd5r

(blow it up 200% or so to really appreciate it--sweet!)

"Original Caption Released with Image:

"Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera acquired this image of Phoenix hanging from its parachute as it descended to the Martian surface. Shown here is a 10 kilometer (6 mile) diameter crater informally called "Heimdall," and an improved full-resolution image of the parachute and lander. Although it appears that Phoenix is descending into the crater, it is actually about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) in front of the crater."

From: http://tinyurl.com/4o98nx

10:51 PM
Anonymous said...

jk=just kidding. FAKE!=youtube-esque commentary from people who don't understand optics very well. My point here being that even w/ high-end imaging gear it is tough to fully resolve small, distant objects, especially through any kind of atmosphere. Lighten up folks.

7:27 AM

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