81–84 of 84 posts
Can we please, pretty please with sugar on top, finally let Flash die? I've seen panoramic image viewers that didn't rely on Flash, they were brilliant. HTML5 video works a whole lot better than Flash, etc. In 2012, there's no need for the bug-ridden mess we call Flash anymore.
I love seeing these pictures showing all the dust and dirt sitting on top of the rover, knowing the years that it sat spotless in a cleanroom[1]. It's like unpacking a toy and actually getting to play with it. [1] http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Mars_%27C...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hm, guess that means I don't understand the article I linked to.
The article you linked to describes the angle of plane of the orbit - the circle it makes around the sun. These vary by only a small amount. The axial tilt is different. It is basically how far the axis through the poles of a planet is tilted compared to the plane of its orbit. This is what you were thinking of initially - it can very a lot.
The mountain looks small mainly due to camera distortion (but it could also be incorrectly stretched image). But it's not a small mountain -- that's a big one. It is an optical effect caused by the panorama stretching. Zoom in the mountain, and it's exactly identical to the photograph by NASA.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4271 ... Look at the details; they match exactly the mountain that's already in the panorama. (the little-looking 'hill' in the direction rover of the shadow, and slightly to the right, is actually Mt Sharp)
Mount sharp just looks small in the panorama, due to optical effect. But zoom in using the mousewheel, and you'll see the surface features match Mount Sharp, even though it's a little smeared (low-resolution). Let's wait for higher-def transmissions, it's still a slow dial-up-style link over 500 million miles...