Posted by Davin Flateau on 13 Jun 2005 at 8:04 am.
Filed under Astronomy.
Back in May, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this spectacular image of the sun setting behind the rim of Gusev Crater. Since Mars is farther away from the sun than the Earth, the sun appears about 2/3 the size as our earthly sunsets. The colors in the image are close to what we’d see on Mars, but are generally exageratted due to the multiple filters on the Rover’s camera. Spacedaily has a desktop of the scene (1024×768) you can download and enjoy. You can read the official press release from JPL as well.
But the sun is far from setting on the mission itself, as Spirit recently celebrated its 500th day on Mars in good health. Principal Investigator Steve Squires posted an update on the mission over the weekend, looking at what’s ahead for his six-wheeled offspring.
And in the “it’s always something” department… we are now facing a new threat to both vehicles. It is dust storm season on Mars. Dust storm season happens once per martian year, during the southern summer when the input of solar energy into the martian atmosphere is highest. And southern summer is now upon us. The atmospheric dust levels at both of our landing sites are high and climbing, and in fact the dust level at the Opportunity site is the highest we’ve ever encountered. It’s not a serious threat yet, but it’s a worry, and we’re watching the dust levels in the atmosphere very closely.
