Views…

Oppy still isn’t moving, but she’s taking – and sharing with us – images of her surroundings, from the mountains on the horizon to the rocks at her feet. And as she’s looking around, she’s being looked AT by the MRO, and having her own portrait taken. So this post is something of a photographic grab-bag, which I hope you enjoy.

First, let’s start off “local” and take a look at an area of rock that’s been christened “Chester Lake 2″… Oppy’s next study site, perhaps..?

Lifting her unblinking electronic eyes from the ground, Oppy sees this beautiful view of Cape Tribulation and the hills on either side of it…

The wider angle view is simply… astronishing. And frustrating! I’ve been trying since (bleeping) mid-afternoon to get all the different images to align and the colours to balance but nope, they won’t. Here’s the best I’ve managed to make…

You really need to click on that to enlarge it… despite its shortcomings it’s still a gorgeous view! But if you want to see how it *should* look, take a wander over to UMSF’s James Canvin’s website where he has some rather more impressive renders of this view…

http://www.nivnac.co.uk/mer/index.php/b2715

For now, I’m happy to work away on that middle section, bringing out subtle details and features on the hills on the Farside of Endeavour, and on the Central Dome that covers a large part of the great crater’s floor…

Have I mentioned how much I love this place? 🙂

Meanwhile, high above Mars, NASA’s Mars Reconaissance Orbiter has been taking pictures of Oppy as the rover rolls across and up the gentle slope of Cape York. I colourised of one of those images, and made an animation that highlights the rover’s position and also shows you where its tracks are…

Here’s another colourisation, on which Oppy shows up a *lot* better (but if she doesn’t jump out at you, just follow the tracks which lead onto the picture from the left)…

Amazing times we live in, don’t you think? 🙂