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Close Mars Means Close-Up Pictures

Posted by timothy on from the from-below-and-above dept.

Guttata writes " space.com has posted 1 of 2 images taken by Hubble last night, dubbed the best Mars globe photo ever taken. The second image will be posted at 4 p.m. ET. Cool!" aderuwe points to a report on the Hubble site itself. Finally, dpp writes "Space.com is reporting how astronomers using the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) here at the Joint Astronomy Centre have made what are thought to be the sharpest ground-based images of Mars to date. They'll be studying the spectra of the infrared light to look for the signatures of minerals that would indicate the past presence of liquid water, which could have hosted life."

4 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Search for life in Europa instead by kinnell · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The trouble is that in order to search for life on Europa, you would need a submarine probe which can drill through several kilometers of ice. It would then have to send any data using a method other than radio, as radio waves don't propogate very well under water. No doubt a probe will be sent eventually (I believe there is one being planned), but it's technically a lot harder than sending probes to Mars.

    --
    If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
  2. Exploitable mineral content by Yanray · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Exploitable mineral content

    I want to find some Rare Earth Elements and excessive mineral/gem deposits. Showing pictures of a 300-carat diamond sitting on the surface of Mars will get us their a lot faster then looking for trace amounts of water.

    Yes I understand that it is necessary to sustain life on Mars but your average investor/citizen of such an endeavor couldn't give a rats ass.

    --
    --"Sorry for the inconvience." Gods Last Words to his Creation
    DNA, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish
  3. Re:See The Blue Atmosphere? by Jedi+Holocron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Opps...

    I actually should have sent you to The Color of Mars bit on this site.

    Thanks.

  4. Why so excited? by baz00f · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sorry, but if you look at the numbers here you'll see that past perihelic oppositions of Mars to earth are just about as close as this one. Year 2003= 34.6 million miles. Year 1956 = 35.1 mill. = difference of 1.4%. Year 1971 = 34.9 mill. = diff. 0.9%. Year 1988= 36.5 mill = diff. 5.5%

    I doubt that such a marginally closer opposition distance significantly improves observations of anything.