Public Submissions  31 July, 2009 09:37

Full text: 2 July 2009 Arsia Mons Cloud Observed by the MEX-VMC Instrument

Full text of the report written by Mars Webcam site visitor Mike Malaska, USA, and sent to us a few days after we published the intriguing Mars Express VMC image showing the cloud over Arsia Mons on 2 July 2009. We've also included links to the PDF version, the SlideShare.com version and the images in Mike's Flickr pages.

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Public Submissions  30 July, 2009 11:52

Data from Google Mars, ESA Mars Webcam and NASA/JPL: Excellent analysis of Martian cloud

Left: MEX-VMC image rotated so that the Martian North Pole is up. Cloud near Arsia Mons is outlined in red and indicated by a red arrow. Right: Still from MARCI movie for 2 July 2009. Red arrow indicates Arsia Mons. Image credits: ESA/NASA/JPL/Malin Space Systems/Mike MalaskaShortly after publishing the intriguing Mars Express VMC image showing the cloud over Arsia Mons on 2 July, we received an excellent analysis from one of our regular site visitors, Mike Malaska, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. He used the Mars Express VMC image together with NASA/JPL images and data from Google Mars in his analysis. We were impressed by Mike's in-depth report, and sent it on to several of the scientists working here at ESA for their comment (more details under 'Full story'). Herewith, and with Mike's kind permission, we'd like to republish his report in full - and with our sincere thanks for his hard work and well-argued results.

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Public Submissions  23 July, 2009 16:05

VMC Desktop Wallpaper - Bogdan Stancescu

Mars Webcam wallpaper by Bogdan Stancescu

The latest VMC public submission aims to brighten up your computer desktop! Bogdan Stancescu of Bucharest, Romania, has created this stunning desktop wallpaper for you to download and use. It features a VMC observation from October 2008 that has been post-processed to bring out amazing detail and colour in the image. Let him and us know what you think in the comments section, and click through for more on how he did it.

 

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Public Submissions  04 April, 2009 14:21

Public Submission - March 19, 2009 Cloud Detail - Mike Malaska

March 19, 2009 Cloud Detail (Personal Project for 100 Hours of Astronomy, April 2-5 IYA2009) To make this image, several MEX-VMC images acquired on March 19, 2008 were used, specifically: 09-078_19.26.32_VMC_Img_No_2.png, 09-078_19.27.25_VMC_Img_No_3.png, 09-078_19.29.12_VMC_Img_No_5.png and 09-078_19.30.05_VMC_Img_No_6.png. All the images were aligned and resized in Photoshop. The two darkest images, No. 2 and No. 6 were averaged (No 2 at 50% opacity). Contrast was adjusted to bring out cloud detail in the non-overexposed region. Then image No. 3 was added to the stack, and a fuzzy layer mask added to image No. 3 that corresponded to the overexposed portion of image No. 3, yet would allow the grays of the No. 2/No. 6 combination image to show through. Next, the brightest image No. 5 was added, with a fuzzy layer mask added that corresponded to the overexposed portion of image No. 5, yet would allow the grays of No. 3 (and also No. 2/No. 6 combination) image to show through. This stack was contrast enhanced using curves and levels. This image was then Gaussian blurred gently (0.4 pixel), then an Unsharp mask was applied. Residual color information was removed using a Black & White adjustment layer. A camera artifact near the crescent edge was removed using clone stamp and a Gaussian blur of a selected region. Finally, a second contrast adjustment was performed using Curves and Levels. With this technique, the full detail of the cloud patterns observed by the MEX-VMC camera can be revealed across the crescent Mars. Mike Malaska Chapel Hill, North Carolina USAOur first public submission of the new VMC blog comes as part of the International Year of Astronomy project - 100 Hours of Astronomy. Mike Malaska of North Carolina, USA, decided to work on the latest batch of VMC images as part of his contribution to this project. Mike's work really brings out the detail of the cloud dynamics swirling above Mars in the latest photos - read on to see how he did it.

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   Slideshow
Rick Hollar Bill Dunford, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, writes: 5 VMC observations obtained early February 2010 show that clouds that form in the morning disappear in the afternoon. The attached image composite shows the five individual observations at different Martian day times. Mike Malaska: Side View of Upper Atmosphere Clouds on Mars - Image taken by the MEX-VMC Camera of the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 15, 2009. In this image the detailed structure of upper atmosphere clouds can be seen against the masked limb of Mars. To make this image, MEX VMC Image 09-349_06.49.25_Img_No_57 and 58 were converted to a png files using the VMC2RGB utility. The two images were aligned in the stack with brighter image No 57 sitting on top of darker Image No 58. An artificial mask was made for the planetary disk of Image No 57 using a threshhold function. The mask allowed image 58 to be visible through the masked portion. Next saturation was increased and a custom channel mix added. A very subtle change in contrast gradient was added. Colors were unmodified. Image Credits: Mike Malaska/ESA