Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 13, 2006 12:16:56 GMT -6
New Google Mars site features ASU Mars images
mars.google.com
mars.google.com
TEMPE, Ariz. A new planet-spanning Web site, Google Mars (mars.google.com) launches today on what would have been Mars astronomer Percival Lowell's 151st birthday. At the heart of the new Web site lies a gigantic picture-puzzle image of Mars created by researchers at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight Facility in Tempe, Arizona.
Also today, ASU and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are releasing to the public and scientists alike a movie, "Flight Into Mariner Valley." This exciting, narrated video takes viewers on a simulated flight through the grandest canyon in the solar system, Valles Marineris on Mars.
Both new developments involve a giant mosaic of Mars that combines more than 17,000 individual photos meticulously stitched together and blended. The photos were taken by ASU's Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, a multi-band space camera. Able to take pictures in 15 visible and infrared "colors," THEMIS was designed by ASU scientists and built by Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. It now orbits Mars aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
"Mars scientists the world over use THEMIS photos," says ASU planetary geologist Phil Christensen, designer and principal investigator for the THEMIS camera. "It's great that thanks to Google Mars, now everyone, everywhere can explore this neighbor world using their own computer browser."
The images in the giant THEMIS mosaic were taken by infrared light and reveal details as small as 750 feet (230 meters) across. They provide a unique view of Mars, melding day and night images. Areas that are cooler appear in darker tones, while warm regions and features appear light-colored.
Several areas of Mars with special interest for scientists can be explored in even more detail using the THEMIS infrared mosaic at Google Mars. These include the giant volcano Olympus Mons, the landing sites for the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and the vast equatorial grand canyon of Mars, Valles Marineris.
More details, stories, and links to the video are online at: themis.asu.edu/vallesspecial
Images at: themis.asu.edu/googlepress
==========
A great site and one can easily see ancient sea shores and river beds. Well worth a see...
