Friday, January 29, 2010

Mars in opposition

So it's not just the Republicans, even planets now.


Ok, I'm not going there (Mars or politics) but have you heard of or seen APOD?

It stands for A Personal Obsessive Devotee    Astronomy Picture Of the Day

The web site offers a gadget that you can put into a blog or your iGoogle page which I did.  The gadget shows you a new picture everyday.  Actually, I noticed a few days where a short video clip was offered instead.  Not only do you see beautiful wondrous pictures, you also learn some interesting facts about the universe.

Do you like pink?  If yes, you should plan a visit to Mars.  Here's part of the picture APOD offered about a week ago.  I found it so oddly attractive that I saved it as my desktop background screen.  The picture shows melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost.  Sounds like the universe dreamed up a dessert.



One more Mars news item -
Remember those two rovers up there?  They are still being used.  Originally their mission was planned for less than a year.  They have been there since 2004.  They are like energizer bunnies.


mars rover

 

Well now, Spirit has gotten stuck in a sand trap.  (send Tiger Woods he knows about getting stuck)  So now it's no more golf for Spirit but NASA plans to continue to collect data and perform science experiments while it sits stationary.

So what would it be like stuck in melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost?

Featured Post

Feedback can be amazing