Friday, October 19, 2012

The Twin Peaks - low sun

Shadows have a dramatic effect on landscapes.   These low sun elevation images, taken as part of the "insurance panorama" shortly after landing, demonstrate this.  Additionally, because these images were taken before the camera mast was deployed, in effect the photographer is crouching down, getting a better angle.



And with a slight bit of vertical exaggeration...


Processed Images Copyright Ted Stryk, Raw Data Courtesy NASA/JPL

Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Twin Peaks

Mars Pathfinder images are some of the most frustrating to work with.  At only 256 pixels across, they are like postage stamps.  It means one has to work with a lot of them to make anything big enough to look good.  Limited by not having an orbiter to relay its data, Pathfinder couldn't have made use of a better CCD chip.  Because its optics were far better than the resolution of the chip, and, as a stationary lander as opposed to a spacecraft flying through space, are jitter free, and because it took the same picture from the same angle so many times, it is one of the most productive data-sets for teasing out super-resolution information.  Here is one of the best sets showing the twin peaks, the little hills that were the signature of the landing site.




Processed Images Copyright Ted Stryk, Raw Data Courtesy NASA/JPL