[ExI] Phoenix Landing. Best. Image. Ever.

[Amara Graps]

Yesterday, I wrote:

>Phil Plait has written an inspirational post at his Bad Astronomy blog
>regarding the Phoenix landing. I won't describe it any more because he
>has the best words.
>http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/05/26/best-image-ever/


For maximum OMG factor, see:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/HiBlog/wp-content/uploads/PSP_008579_9020_descent.jpg

The caption for that crater image is as follows:
    http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/HiBlog/?p=190

"So it turns out that the descent of Phoenix is actually visible in the
browse scale image. That's the image which is reduced in scale by a
factor of ten which eliminates a lot of noise. What's more astounding is
that directly line-of-sight in the background is giant Heimdall Crater!
Yesterday's image made everyone's jaw drop but this one is mind-blowing.
The tiny image below is linked to the browse scale image.

This oblique view has been rotated so the crater is facing up. Phoenix,
caught in its Promethean act, is between 8 and 10 kilometers above the
surface, descending in the foreground at a distance of approximately 20
kilometers from the crater. It's landing site was ultimately beyond the
crater's ejecta blanket.

The inset is an enhanced version at full resolution, showing some
details of the parachute."



Amara

-- 

Amara Graps, PhD      www.amara.com
Research Scientist, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, Colorado