Bill Nye's Marsdial

Some Clown writes "MSNBC via the Seattle Post Intelligencer is reporting that Bill Nye the Science Guy, as part of the Earthdial Project has got what's being billed as a 'Marsdial' put onto the Mars Rover. Interestingly, it is now the official backup for orienting the Mars Rover in case of primary camera failure. Maybe an old fashioned sundial is just what the doctor ordered after the many math and other blunders of late. This whole Earthdial Project seems pretty interesting as well. They're trying to set up a worldwide network of sundials tracked via webcam. The goal is to track the sun's movements as viewed from many points on earth, as well as from Mars. Definitely interesting... at least if the 'Marsdial' doesn't disintegrate upon landing." There's a little more technical description of the Marsdial in our earlier story.

Comments

Probably Stupid Question

[PakProtector]

If they're going to use the sundial to align the camera if the camera goes out, how are they going to align the sundial to make sure it's correct in the first place?

Alternative use

[gringer]

I have noticed that the Beagle 2 may have a problem with its clock:

Another possibility is that Beagle's clock might have been reset during its descent to the Martian surface, and so it is trying to call home when nobody is listening.

Now this potential problem has a solution! The rovers just need to use the Marsdial to calibrate their clocks on landing.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

[Tempelherr]

I always really thought this guy was really amazing. From what I've seen, he actually has the somewhat rare ability to make science interesting for kids to learn and experiment with. I may be a bit biased though, as growing up here in WA, we often watched his videos in class when it dealt with the particular scientific subject that we studying at the time.

One time, he even came to the elementary school I went to and gave a presentation on precipitation and weather patterns. It was actually one of the most entertaining presentations I ever saw at school. I havn't heard anything about what he has been up to in years, but I'm glad to see that he is still actively contributing to the world, and perhaps continuing to interest kids with his wierd experiments.

Re:Your tax dollars at work, folks.

[Tempelherr]

I think the overall cost of this would be negligible when considered in the scope of things.

Also, it appears as though Bill Nye essentially only modified the design of the color post that they were sending up that was originally meant to better calibrate the color tinting on the cameras. From the article:

"NASA had planned to calibrate using an erect post set in a color chart. The idea was to compare various colors in shadow and direct light to accurately adjust the natural tint.

A post? A shadow?

When Nye saw the color-calibration method planned for the rover, he realized it would just take one small step for mankind to transform the device into a sundial. He could add function without adding weight. Eureka! Nye was ecstatic."

As seen on TechTV

[bigbigbison]

Bill Nye was on TechTV a couple weeks ago talking about this. It was pretty interesting. They have a video of it on the TechTV site. http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,2 4330,3587881,00.html

William Nye is dead.

[Anonymous Coward]

Science Guy Bill Nye Killed in Massive Vinegar/Baking Soda Explosion.

Truly an American icon.