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4-Billion-Pixel Panorama View From Curiosity Rover

SternisheFan points out that there is a great new panorama made from shots from the Curiosity Rover. "Sweep your gaze around Gale Crater on Mars, where NASA's Curiosity rover is currently exploring, with this 4-billion-pixel panorama stitched together from 295 images. ...The entire image stretches 90,000 by 45,000 pixels and uses pictures taken by the rover's two MastCams. The best way to enjoy it is to go into fullscreen mode and slowly soak up the scenery — from the distant high edges of the crater to the enormous and looming Mount Sharp, the rover's eventual destination."

66 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Flash player embeds are great and all, but I would rather have a good, high resoluton image that I can span over my multi monitor setup instead as my desktop image.

    You know, because I think its cool? I understand that the photographer worked hard to make it, and can release however he damnd well wants, but I would still like this in PNG format.

    1. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by one+eyed+kangaroo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      True enough, but I'm just enjoying it for what it represents, a startling view of another planet.
      I am quite awestruck by this, and find that all the cynicism has drained out of me ;-)

    2. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Informative

      Here's one I found within 1 minute of searching on Google.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 3, Funny

      But.... that's a JPEG!

      (Still saved it anyway though.)

    4. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Uuum, he *already* has released it as image files. Or what do you think the SWF requests from the server?

      Just use Firebug's network tab, to look at the requests, and make a wget command out of it. You're not a Internet child anymore, are you?

    5. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      You know, not everyone has the luxury of a full browser + suite of tools to do such things, and get fed the crippleware "mobile versions" of webpages?

      Because some of us have to sneak access using mobile devices because of corporate firewalls?

      Yeah. That.

    6. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by Spikeles · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not the exact same picture, but here one with a 88mb TIFF. Here's another with an 88mb TIFF, and here is a whole lot more for your desktop pleasure.

      --
      I don't need to test my programs.. I have an error correcting modem.
    7. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      well, it's three years since 'thoughts on flash' and it's steve jobs that's dead, not the ubiquitous and stubborn little plug-in.

      who'd have thought it eh!

    8. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Here is FULL uncompressed TIFF image:

      http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20121109a/PIA16440_McMurdo_Merged_Cyl_L456atc.tif (164Mb)

    9. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      You do realize that would be ~ 11gb of data (uncompressed), right? Even assuming that PNG managed an 80% compression, you'd still have more than 2gb of data.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    10. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by webmistressrachel · · Score: 1

      Laptop + "mobile devices" = problem solved.

      This wasn't about PNG's, nor "my internets is crap" because the two contradict each other - and the obvious solution, if you weren't trolling, is shown above. ;-)

      --
      This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
    11. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      While "a" solution, not a workable one in my situation. When I say "sneak", I literally mean it.

      We work with proprietary aerospace engineering data and processes, including DoD funstuff.

      Seriously, there is no way in hell I can sneak in a laptop. It's hard enough sneaking in a smartphone. I am literally stuck with mobile view webpages until after 2am, and limited to the tools available for an android platform running froyo. It isn- by choice that I play in the pool with orange floaties on, ok?

    12. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by stereopticon · · Score: 4, Informative

      I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that's not the same panorama. Heck, it's not even the same part of Mars. It's from the older robot, you can see the solar panels at the bottom. Curiosity doesn't have solar panels. Looking at the EXIF meta data embedded in that file, it's from 2005.

    13. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Yes, I know the filesize will be enormous. Been there, done that with NASA HIRISE images.

      I have a 16gb card in the phone, and yank the big image out of it when I go home. I can then resize and reformat the image to suit my own personal needs myself, with an artifact free source. JPEG files meant for webpages look horrible on a high contrast display as the desktop image.

    14. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by raftpeople · · Score: 2

      Looks like Bakersfield

    15. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by hawguy · · Score: 1

      While "a" solution, not a workable one in my situation. When I say "sneak", I literally mean it.

      We work with proprietary aerospace engineering data and processes, including DoD funstuff.

      Seriously, there is no way in hell I can sneak in a laptop. It's hard enough sneaking in a smartphone. I am literally stuck with mobile view webpages until after 2am, and limited to the tools available for an android platform running froyo. It isn- by choice that I play in the pool with orange floaties on, ok?

      If you have unusual client side restrictions, then state them when you state your problem or don't whine when someone gives you an "unworkable" solution to your problem.

      But if your computer is locked down tightly enough to prevent you from browsing the internet freely, how do you copy images that you've downloaded to your phone over to your dual-monitor desktop computer without violating your employer's security policy? At my company, when we lock down a computer, not only do we restrict webpages to a small subset of "business need" websites via a logging proxy server that can't be bypassed, but we also prevent external storage devices from being attached and prevent wireless networks from being enabled (though the computers have no Wifi or bluetooth adapters). And these are just computers with access to sensitive business data, we have no DoD policies to worry about.

    16. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      I email the picture to myself later, once I go home. :D

      I log in to the corporate webmail portal, using the crippled browser client, attach the file, and set myself as the recipient.

      Pull the image out once I go back to work the next day. It looks for all the world like an internal email.

    17. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by hawguy · · Score: 1

      I email the picture to myself later, once I go home. :D

      I log in to the corporate webmail portal, using the crippled browser client, attach the file, and set myself as the recipient.

      Pull the image out once I go back to work the next day. It looks for all the world like an internal email.

      Then why don't you just use your home computer to download the images, as others have suggested?

    18. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Uh, I did notice. Yes. Thank you captain obvious.
      It was however, and image I did not have. So I yanked it. I also noted it was a jpeg, and not a png.

      Nowhere did I assert that it was the same image. I didn't feel that it needed to be said.

    19. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Because right now I am at work, and I may forget to push the images later. My house is a 50 minute drive away, and I have another 3.5hrs before the buzzer rings, and I can go home.

      Pulling the image now keeps it in the phone, so that even if I forget about it, I still have it, and can push it later without incident.

      The OP I made was more intended in the tone of "Nasa often offers large PNG files for these kinds of things, even on their mobile version pages. It would sure be nice if this article did the same, or had a link to such an image link for those interested."

      I don't mind sucking down a 200mb+ image file with the phone, then hacking it up later. Getting images out of swf containers on a smartphone with outdated (abandoned) firmware is not a trivial exercise.

    20. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Sweet! Thanks!

    21. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by SternisheFan · · Score: 1
      Blame me, I guess I got lazy when I submitted this story that I learned about from scanning GoogleNews. I knew then that I could've dug around the internet a little and googled a bit more for the NASA link I would've found a better link for this. Just felt lazy and figured this page would be 'good enough' (seems pretty damn amazing to me!). I forget how demanding the Slashdot crowd can get sometimes.

      Still, the fact that I can do a 360 panorama tour of the Planet Mars (and view it from my $100 android phone no less) seems absolutely magical to me.

      Amazing times we live in. :^)

    22. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Naw, Shit happens man.

      I didn't mean it in a snarky way, even if the replies came out that way due to responding in kind.

      I just like being able to grab the image and keep it. Totally agree about being to pan and zoom on the martian landscape from a POS android phone. Totally diggin it.

      I'm glad you submitted the article. :D

    23. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why don't you just email the link to yourself?

    24. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by SternisheFan · · Score: 1
      Thanks, it is really cool, your tax dollars at work for something worthy, huh.

      I took no offense, btw. I'm doing this all at home all comfylike in my lazyboy, glad it helped you get through your workday. You sound like you know your sh*t, you and others here like having these images in more detail, I'm down with that. I hate zooming in and the image gets blocky looking. Still, great imaging for, what is it, a 2mp camera? Makes me impatient to see the next pics after Curiosity gets moving again to it's next location. Like maybe an interactive panorama taken from the top of Mt. Sharp. :)

    25. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Flash player embeds are great and all, but I would rather have a good, high resoluton image that I can span over my multi monitor setup instead as my desktop image.

      Especially since the controls are backwards.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    26. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by WillKemp · · Score: 1

      Especially since the controls are backwards.

      No they're not. Just pretend you're controlling the camera.

    27. Re:it sure would be nice to get a PNG.. by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      You have a 90,000 pixel wide monitor setup and a GTX Titan or Quadro to calculate the zooming manually? Wooooow.

  2. Re:Why is there a joystick on the rover? by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

    It looks like one, but it's not a joystick, it's a sundial. NASA uses it to fine tune Curiosity's positioning system

  3. Sometimes science gives me a woody by gubon13 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm trying to understand the sheer awesomeness of the technologies necessary to get to this point where I can have some sense of what it's like to be on Mars, and it's a bit of a pant-tenter...

    1. Re:Sometimes science gives me a woody by rsmith-mac · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We really do live in the future. I'm looking at a panoramic, high definition landscape of another planet from my couch. How can you not get excited about it?!

      People spend all of this time bitching about all the things that are wrong in the world, and they only half-realize all the awesome things that go on such as this. We live in the future and I wouldn't have it any other way.

      P.S. Not all of us are male, you insensitive clod. Though the realization that I'm now wetter than Mars from looking at Mars has a certain tinge of irony to it

    2. Re:Sometimes science gives me a woody by bfandreas · · Score: 1

      This is awesome. In the original meaning of the word "awesome".
      We are looking in great detail at the landscape of another planet. Give it another couple of decades and this picture will include astronauts high fiving each other. Ray Bradbury would have had a word or two to say about that.

      It looks kinda desolate, tho. Makes one appreciate good ole Terra a little bit more. An inhabitable planet? Wot, wif green an all? Awesome! Let's frack it!

      --
      20 minutes into the future
    3. Re:Sometimes science gives me a woody by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      People spend all of this time bitching about all the things that are wrong in the world, and they only half-realize all the awesome things that go on such as this..

      Well yeah, we bitch about THIS world. Awesome stuff may be happening on MARS, but here in this world, there's nothing but suckiness and things going wrong. Must be because there's nothing living on mars to fuck up shit. Dr. Manhattan had it right the first time.

      Okay, that started out as a joke making fun of your word choice, but now I've gone from awestruck at the panorama to depressed...

  4. Re:Why is there a joystick on the rover? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    It looks like one, but it's not a joystick, it's a sundial. NASA uses it to fine tune Curiosity's positioning system

    Also, it's a backup RTC for measuring time.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  5. In a year ... by PPH · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... something will have snuck up on the rover and written WASH ME in its dust with their tentacle.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  6. Another use for Curiosity ? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If Curiosity's wheels fall off and can't move anymore, there might be another use for Curiosity

    As long as the camera still functioning, as long as the power generation unit still functioning, and as long as Curiosity can still send messages back to earth, the rover can be used as a "telescope" stationed at Mars

    The air of Mars is clean, with no pollutants, and the sky is clear, VERY VERY CLEAR, out there

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Another use for Curiosity ? by icebike · · Score: 2

      Wait till the next dust storm comes along. Not so clear then.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    2. Re:Another use for Curiosity ? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

      the rover can be used as a "telescope" stationed at Mars

      Having seen the clear night sky a few times from (mildly) remote areas here on Earth, I can only imagine the view at night on Mars. (sigh)

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    3. Re:Another use for Curiosity ? by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Oh, Luc's kitchen is just a short distance from the sound stage where the Curiosity rover footage is being faked.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    4. Re:Another use for Curiosity ? by T-Bone-T · · Score: 1

      I looked up and it looks even less clear than where I am out in the desert. The sun disappears behind the dust well before it hits the horizon. I can't see any stars less than 45 degrees above the horizon. Just because there are no pollutants doesn't mean the sky will be clear.

    5. Re:Another use for Curiosity ? by synackpshfin · · Score: 1

      Wait until a *sandworm* comes along! :)

  7. Duct Tape? by eljefe6a · · Score: 1

    Is it me or is the cylinder on the back covered in duct tape? Times are tough at NASA...

    1. Re:Duct Tape? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Times are tough? What are you about?

      That's NASA's lucky duct tape. You'll find it on any mission.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  8. Re:Wash me! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    'I wish I had a girlfriend half as dirty as this rover!'

    They should have written it in teflon or PTFE so it would 'magically' show up on mars. Spent a few million to find which coating would work best.

    I know it would be impossible. Have to settle for for the photoshop.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  9. Re:Corrupt moderator will try to censor this... ap by MrKaos · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I only post where hosts file usage is on topic or appropriate for a solution & certainly NOT IN EVERY POST ON SLASHDOT (like the nutcase trying to "impersonate me" is doing for nearly all of March now, & 170++ times that I know of @ least)... apk

    Then stop posting as AC FFS.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  10. my first upvote: discussion thread on the new upvo by epine · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Not having much success with the new feature: appears there is no thread on the new upvote feature.

    So here's the thing. We can use this for good, or we can use this for evil.

    Good: Voting up story submissions that don't end in woolly assertions soliciting a lather of unfocused submissions.

    Good: Voting down story submissions that leave out critical bits of context as if everyone goes off to immediately RTFA.

    Bad: Voting down perfectly geeky submissions because it's just not your particular kink.

    Let's raise the editorial standards and not turn this into a popularity contest. If this degenerates into nothing but a popularity trinket, there won't be damn soul over the age of 30 who posts here ever again.

  11. Re:shucks by icebike · · Score: 1

    Its your equipment. Works perfectly for me.
    What you call artifacting, I call dusty air.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  12. A $2K panorama by bhlowe · · Score: 1

    Here is a panorama stitched using 936 images taken with a low-cost PTZ camera.. http://nuspectra.com/pano/ Fully-automated and for under $2K.

  13. Dirty wheels? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

    So I was noticing how filthy the wheels are... and I'm wondering, if the planets as dry as it's supposed to be, why would dirt be sticking to anything? What's making it sticky? Static? I'm a bit perplexed by what seems to be moist earth rather than desert sands as I'd expect.

    1. Re:Dirty wheels? by ProgramErgoSum · · Score: 1

      Perhaps, the tread in the wheels scuffed up some ? Valid observation though...

    2. Re:Dirty wheels? by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      So I was noticing how filthy the wheels are... and I'm wondering, if the planets as dry as it's supposed to be, why would dirt be sticking to anything? What's making it sticky? Static? I'm a bit perplexed by what seems to be moist earth rather than desert sands as I'd expect.

      I googled that question and it came up with this page (linked below). Scroll down to see some very fine closeup pics of the rovers dirty wheels.

      The best comments seem to agree that it could be a combination of very fine dust and static involved.

      http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread880460/pg1

  14. North...? East...? by ProgramErgoSum · · Score: 1

    The UI for navigating the image has N pointing ahead/upward. Is it same as Earth North ? And, Martian East is the same as the direction of sunrise ?

  15. Re:Why is there a joystick on the rover? by wierd_w · · Score: 1

    RTC == RealTime Clock

    It has meant that since at last the 1980s that I know of.

  16. Population of Earth by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    That's approximately one pixel per person on Earth.

    I'm that rust-colored pixel on that rust-colored rock next to the dusty soil.
         

  17. I have bettern image viewers than a browser by Skapare · · Score: 1

    ... so why limit people to browsers?

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  18. Wow, the rover! by m.alessandrini · · Score: 3, Informative

    Am I the only one looking amazed at the rover and ignoring the landscape? It's like my child's robot dreams starting slowly to come true.

  19. NASA provide a good MSL multimedia section by rishistar · · Score: 1

    I have just finished doing a music video for a song I have about the Mars rovers. I was very impressed with the image data that NASA makes available on the Mars Science Laboratory - RAW images from cameras as well as annotated images with explanations.

    --
    Professor Karmadillo Songs of Science
  20. Re:shucks by WillKemp · · Score: 1

    What you call artifacting, I call dusty air.

    Air? On Mars?

  21. Quartz vein? by WillKemp · · Score: 1

    That looks like quartz veins on the horizontal lying rock about north east by east. I wonder if it is.

  22. Re:shucks by SternisheFan · · Score: 1

    What you call artifacting, I call dusty air.

    Air? On Mars?

    Not yet. But introduce oxygen creating lichens to the surface, mayhap one day we could at the least have enclosed domes trapping oxygen. That would keep us alive until we figure out how to create a working magnetosphere. Not an easy thing to do, creating an atmosphere that wouldn't get blown away by cosmic winds, not impossible though.

    - - -

    The 'impossible' is just something that hasn't been done yet.

  23. The Sun by Muse011 · · Score: 1

    Sure is weird seeing the Sun from another planet. Looks pretty much the same, though through a dustier atmosphere.

  24. Anyone else? by blackholepcs · · Score: 1

    I took a look at the panorama and it is indeed awesome. But I found myself immediately trying to identify "objects" and patterns. Not because I believe that there are non-natural artifacts there, but because my brain started saying "Ok, let's see what kind of ridiculous things Richard C. Doucheland will claim as proof of aliens".

    I like the guys enthusiasm, and I share a very small percent of his views, but I honestly cannot take him seriously at all. I've never seen someone so intelligent be so purposefully stupid. "Oh and look what we have here ladies and gentlemen. Rectilinear geometry. You can see it plain as day. All you have to do is look. See? I zoomed this low resolution jpeg by 2500% and you can start to see all sorts of lines and squares...where there should be none! It looks...like....a pyramid, people!"

    Sometimes I think he's actually a reverse psychology experiment. The government uses him to discredit his own theories by having him use the most ridiculous "proof" possible, "proof" that even a middle school kid can see is absolute hogwash.

    --
    Halitosis - (n.) Halle Berry's Camel Toe.
  25. Look Like... by AllenABQ · · Score: 1

    Stunning image. And yet, I can't help but think it looks at lot like parts of New Mexico. It's easy to do a mental subsitution of low-growing, evergreen-type shrubs for what are actually rocks in the picture. :D

  26. Re:shucks by icebike · · Score: 1

    The definition of air is sufficiently broad to include the Martian atmosphere. Mars has wind sufficient to cause dust storms, so there is obviously air of some composition there.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  27. Re:shucks by SternisheFan · · Score: 1
    From Wikipedia:

    The atmosphere of Mars is, like that of Venus, composed mostly of carbon dioxide though far thinner. There has been renewed interest in its composition since the detection of traces of methane[2][3] that may indicate life but may also be produced by a geochemical process, volcanic or hydrothermal activity.

    The atmospheric pressure on the Martian surface averages 600 pascals (0.087 psi), about 0.6% of Earth's mean sea level pressure of 101.3 kilopascals (14.69 psi) and only .0065% that of Venus's 9.2 megapascals (1,330 psi). It ranges from a low of 30 pascals (0.0044 psi) on Olympus Mons's peak to over 1,155 pascals (0.1675 psi) in the depths of Hellas Planitia. Mars's atmospheric mass of 25 teratonnes compares to Earth's 5148 teratonnes with a scale height of about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) versus Earth's 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). The Martian atmosphere is about 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and traces of free oxygen, carbon monoxide, water and methane, among other gases, for a mean molar mass of 43.34 g/mol.[1][5] The atmosphere is quite dusty, giving the Martian sky a light brown or orange color when seen from the surface; data from the Mars Exploration Rovers indicate that suspended dust particles within the atmosphere are roughly 1.5 micrometres across

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mars

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars

  28. Re:This image brings it home by vikingpower · · Score: 1

    It seems like Mars has just been waiting patiently for us to grow up and colonize her.

    HIM puhleeze, puhleeze. Some respect for the linguistical testes of the former god of war. Puhleeze. Him.

    --
    Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace