Slowdown

Unfortunately MMB development is having to take a back seat to life and work in the "real world" right now. In other words, I'm way too busy, so no version 1.1 for awhile. Since I currently have no idea when or if I'm going to be able to get back to serious MMB development, I'm probably going to release a version 1.0.7 pretty soon with the features that have been completed so far. This would at least include the Image Info window and the expanded Slideshow Criteria dialog.

In MER news, Opportunity seems to have gotten bogged down in a little sand dune. The pictures look pretty alarming, but according to Steve Squyres' latest Mission Update (big kudos to him for doing these, by the way), they're not too worried just yet. Just what this means for Oppy's travel plans remains to be seen. It's certainly exciting, though! I mean, we're sending a rover travelling across the surface of another planet, for crying out loud: it's not always going to be easy.

Version 1.1 Under Development Screenshot #2

Work on version 1.1 goes on (and on, and on). Here is a screenshot of the updated Slideshow Criteria dialog, under development:

Dust Devil Movies: Spirit Sols 455, 456, 459 and 461

Some remarkable dust devil movies have just come down from Spirit. Exploratorium currently isn't updating, so with Midnight Mars Browser you'll need to download the raw images from JPL using the "Update Images from JPL" or "Advanced Update from JPL" menu options.

Also, these movies are so exciting that JPL has posted their own processed versions almost immediately:
Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 456 (Plain and Isolated)

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 459 (Plain and Isolated)

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 456 (Enhanced)

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 459 (Enhanced)


See also the "Live Dust Devil" discussion thread on Unmanned Spaceflight.

To view the sequences of images in MMB, use the following information to find the images, then step through then using the left and right arrow keys:

"First, one in the extreme distance (practically on the horizon), starting at 2\n\455\2N166754107ESFA9C2P1560L0M1.JPG and lasting for 21 frames (it doesn't really become visible until the 5th frame or so)

Then, one extremely close, visible starting at 2\n\456\2N166841509ESFA9DWP1560L0M1.JPG and visible for 2 frames

Then, a lovely one starting at 2\n\459\2N167103718ESFA9F4P1560L0M1.JPG in the mid-distance, a 9-frame sequence

Then, *several* caught in a 10-frame pancam sequence starting at 2\p\461\2P167292304ESFA9GEP2888L2M1.JPG"

Update: See also this discussion thread no Nirgal's colorized versions of the enhanced dust devil images.

Update: As soon as I have time, I've really got to add a movie-generation feature to MMB.

Screenshot of MMB Version 1.1 under development

Here's a screenshot of Midnight Mars Browser version 1.1, currently under development.

Version 1.1 Coming

After a little hiatus, Midnight Mars Browser version 1.1 is on the way. The main new features for this version are going to be a Sol Info and Image Info windows. There will also be lots of little improvements. Version 1.1 will also see some infrastructure put in place for Version 1.2, which may be the point where Midnight Mars Browser becomes shareware... but that's just a plan at this stage. I hope to have version 1.1 out in a couple weeks tops.