Explaining the Mars Photo Colorization

TaddyPorter writes "I've seen stories going around the 'net in regards to NASA editing photos of mars. Mainly, the sundial used for calibration showed different colors than the dial on mars. While a wide range of explanations were taking shape, the Pancam Payload Element Lead for the mission, Jim Bell of Cornell University, was kind of enough to explain the color differences."

Comments

Great explanation, but why...

[darkstream]

...doesn't NASA throw the public a bone? This color correction controversy pops up everytime a probe successfully lands on Mars and sends pictures back. One would think that they would have a standard RGB style camera for publicity shots. Chances are they can only afford to put on cameras practical for the mission, but I still believe a better solution could be provided. It probably just wasn't important to them... ;) Perhaps next time a camera could be included that features lens that provide scentific data and that can double as a publicist for NASA - spitting out RGB standard images that require no color correction.