More Quicktime VRs

A couple more VRs here: Opportunity Quicktime VRs

The thing that's unfortunate is that I can't really do justice to the Pancam images in these VRs, because Java 3D isn't allowing me to exceed a certain size when I capture the images that make up the VRs. So the Pancam images in these come out maybe a third of the resolution they should be, if that. It's frustrating - otherwise it would be a neat little system.

Quicktime VR Experiments

I've been experimenting with Quicktime VR, and finally figured out an amazing simple way to create Quicktime VR movies from MMB panoramas. Here is an example:

Edit: instead, go to the new page I set up.

Opportunity Sol 884

Pancam drive-direction mosaic of Beagle Crater, Opportunity Sol 884.

Bad Night for the Internets

Looks like dotMac HomePage is down, and also Flickr is down. No screenshots until Flickr is back up, and, more painfully, no metadata updates until dotMac is back up.

Update: Looks like both are fixed now.

Opportunity Sol 883

Since Flickr seems to have chosen this moment to have a major system crash, I'll try putting this new images on Blogger.





Oh... it automatically sizes down the images. I guess that's why I don't use Blogger to host these.

Movie: Opportunity's Voyage South from Erebus

Linked below is a movie of Opportunity's journey south from Erebus Crater so far, from Sol 758 to Sol 878. It is made up of 61 MMB Navcam panorama views, simulating a view from "above," facing South, as Opportunity travels torward Victoria Crater. The movie is in Quicktime format, 7.2Mb large. You may want to right-click and save it and play it in Quicktime Player, as the controls may be off the bottom of the screen if you are viewing it in a web browser on a 1024x768 resolution monitor.

Opportunity's Journey South from Erebus

I might go back later and improve the anti-vignetting on some of the panoramas, but you get the idea.

Sol 871 Pancam Mosaic

There is a nice little crater visible about half to two-thirds the way to the right in this mosaic. If you have the red-blue glasses, it's more easily distinguishable in the anaglyph version.

Sand Castle

Looks like a bit of a barrier? Will be interesting to see which way they go. The mottled/hexagonal pattern on the soil to the south is interesting.

Boundary in Sight

An Autostitched mosaic from Opportunity Sol 870, Pancam L2. At left is Beagle Crater. The boundary between the sea of drifts and the "apron" around Victoria Crater is clearly delineated and stretches to the right.

Getting Really Close to Beagle Crater

Almost there... Beagle crater is actually off to the left in this false-color image. It looks like we'll be checking out the strange debris field (or whatever it is) to the west of Beagle before we see the crater itself. The interest level should increase from here ... soon we should also get some idea of what is waiting for us *beyond* Beagle, like what the 'apron' around Victoria is going to be like for driving. As Steve Squyres pointed out recently, we really don't know... We are approaching unfamiliar terrain, which is what makes this so exciting.

Opportunity Sees Her Shadow, Approaching Beagle Crater

Sunset on Sol 864: