Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 March 6

                        Mars Panorama from Curiosity
                    Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS

   Explanation: The Mars Rover named Curiosity recorded high-resolution,
   360 degree views of its location on Mars late last year. The panoramic
   scene was stitched from over 1,000 images from Curiosity's Mast camera
   or Mastcam. In this version, captured with Mastcam's medium angle lens,
   the rover's deck and robotic arm are in the foreground, stretched and
   distorted by the extreme wide perspective. Just beyond the rover are
   regions of clay rich rock, evidence for an ancient watery environment,
   with a clear view toward more distant martian ridges and buttes. Gale
   crater wall runs across the center (toward the north) in the background
   over 30 kilometers in the distance. The upper reaches of Mt. Sharp are
   at the far right. Images to construct the panorama were recorded over 4
   consecutive sols between local noon and 2pm to provide consistent
   lighting. Zoom in to the panoramic scene and you can easily spot the
   shadow casting sundial mounted on rover's deck (right). In July NASA
   plans to launch a new rover to Mars named Perseverance.

                     Tomorrow's picture: under the stars
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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