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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Unnamed_Crater-PIA18247-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgUnnamed Crater with Hollows (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)65 visiteThis frame, obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on Frebruary, 25, 2014, which shows us a Mercurian Northern Hemisphere's Unnamed Impact Crater - approx. 12,5 Km - such as about 7,76 miles in diameter -, suggested a question that we would like to ask you as much as ourselves: do those extremely common and bright (---> highly reflective) Mercurian Surface Features known as "Hollows" form preferentially on those Crater Walls (---> Inner and Outer Slopes as wll as thier Rims) which receive a more direct (---> and therefore intense) Sunlight?
In the Northern Hemisphere of Mercury, the Northern Walls of the Impact Craters are frequently flooded by a very intense Sunlight (meaning that they are almost always VERY well illuminated), while their Southern Walls only receive grazing Sunlight and therefore they are more often in Shadow; on the other hand (and we just say, "obviously"), in the Mercurian Southern Hemisphere, the Impact Craters' Northern Walls are the ones which receive just grazing Sunlight (and therefore are much less illuminated) while the Southern Walls get more direct (and therefore stronger) Sunlight. Said that, Planetary Scientists, on the base of their observations (mostly founded on the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's images), believe that the greater the Solar Heating is experienced by the Walls of any given Impact Crater, the more Hollows will form on its (both Inner and Outer) Slopes and Rims (in other words: the direct Solar Illumination should reasonably be an important - if not decisive - factor in the formation of Hollows on the Walls of the Impact Craters located on both Mercury's Hemispheres).
Images like the one here can help us to answer this question and what we see in today's APOD is found in an area of focus (---> interest) for the current NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's Low-Altitude Imaging Campaign. Perhaps, in the (near) future, we may know more about all this: let's just wait an see what happens...
Date acquired: February, 25th, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 35646241
Image ID: 5828285
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 42,92° North
Center Longitude: 330,90° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 43,5° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 46,5° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 46,1°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 30,1
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON-Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 18247) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumMag 07, 2014
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Titan-South_Polar_Vortex-PIA17163-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgDouble Crescent (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/IPF)63 visiteTitan's South Polar Vortex mimics the moon itself, creating - as you can (barely) see in this frame, taken by the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft on December, 1, 2013 - a somehow elegant "crescent within a crescent". In fact, situated above the (surrounding) South Polar Atmosphere, the raised Walls of the Vortex, which stand along its Sunward Side, can just catch the grazing Sunlight, thus creating a "crescent" of its own. Titan (that, as you should know by now, is approx. 3200 miles - such as about 5149,88 Km - across) is Saturn's largest moon and possesses an extremely dense and ultra-dynamic Atmosphere, whose true characteristics are still a mistery.
Speaking of unanswered questions as well as problems which are still unsolved, we have to say - as IPF - that the true nature (---> meaning Seasonal or Permanent) of the South Polar Vortex keeps being, up to now, an highly controversial subject in the Planetary Scientists' Community. However, a definitive answer about the aforementioned question - and we like to say "obviously" -, will come, in a way or another, in time. For now, the only - truly - wise thing to do, is to keep looking...
This view looks toward the Trailing Hemisphere of Titan and North is up. The image was taken with the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft Wide-Angle Camera - as we wrote herebefore - on December, 1, 2013, by using a Spectral Filter which preferentially admits Wavelengths of Near-InfraRed Light centered at 939 nanometers. This frame was obtained at a distance of approximately 108.000 miles (such as about 173.808,72 Km) from Titan and the scale is roughly 6 miles (such as approx. 9,65 Km ) per pixel.
This frame (which is an Original NASA - CASSINI Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17163) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, Gamma corrected and then colorized - according to an educated guess (or, if you wish, an informed speculation) carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga - in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Saturnian moon "Titan"), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Gases) present in the Atmosphere of Titan, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.
Note: it is possible (but we, as IPF, have no way to be one-hundred-percent sure of such a circumstance), that the actual luminosity of Titan - as it is in this frame - would appear, to an average human eye, a little bit lower than it has been shown (or, better yet: interpreted) here.MareKromiumMag 07, 2014
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SOL0528-CICAS-1.jpgMartian "Snake" at Gale? - Sol 528 (White Balanced - CTX Frame - Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; credits for the Research: Ciro Casizzone/a.k.a. "Cicas65"/LXTT/IPF)121 visitevedi il commento al frame che segue.MareKromiumFeb 13, 2014
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SOL0528-PIA17931-PCF-LXTT-IPF-3.jpgBizarre-looking Rocks - Sol 528 (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color. Dr Paolo C. Fienga/LXTT/IPF)81 visiteDue rocce decisamente curiose (specie quella posta alla Sx dell'Osservatore), le quali presentano una caratterizzazione superficiale assolutamente peculiare. Se Gale Crater, effettivamente ed in un'era remota, fu veramente un Lago, allora quello che si vede sulle due rocce potrebbe essere il residuo - fossile - di vegetazione sub-lacuale. E non solo! Sulla roccia di Sx, si vede NETTAMENTE l'esistenza di un foro il quale, come già ipotizzammo in passato - per un caso simile - potrebbe essere un Predatory Borehole.
Ovviamente la NASA, su questo ed altri rilievi similari, ha detto il solito. E cioè nulla. Voi che ne pensate?!?
p.s.: guardate la roccia "porosa", "irregolare" e "forata" a Dx ed osservate come essa sembra essere "parte integrante" della roccia stratificata sottostante. Sono tutt'uno? Sono l'una "appoggiata" all'altra? Si sono "incollate" nelle ere?.... Che ne dite?MareKromiumFeb 13, 2014
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SOL0528-CICAS-3.jpgMartian "Snake" at Gale? - Sol 528 (White Balanced - EDM - Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; credits for the Research: Ciro Casizzone/a.k.a. "Cicas65"/LXTT/IPF)94 visiteDal nostro Senior Partner Ciro Casizzone (alias "Cicas65") un dettaglio controverso colto dal Rover Curiosity all'interno del Cratere Gale, mentre si accingeva a superare una larga - ma non troppo alta - duna.
Guardate attentamente: già la roccia inquadrata, in sé, è strana parecchio (per configurazione estreriore, la quale mi porta a supporre una sua eventuale "natura mista"), ma qulla specie di "verme" (o "serpentello") di un bel color bianco, decisamente lungo e palesemente flessuoso, Vi pare anch'esso un qualcosa di "roccioso"?!?
La "Creatura" - se creatura è, ed apparentemente io, assumendomene le responsabilità, direi proprio di si - si sta estendendo, partendo dal terreno retrostante al macigno, sul macigno e, nel contempo, proietta una netta ombra scura su di esso. Illusione ottica? Vista l'ombra, direi proprio di NO!
OTIIMO Cicas! ed ora, i commenti a Voi!...
p.s.: se guardate con ESTREMA attenzione la parte anteriore dell'Anomalia (la cui colorazione, per altro, NON è uniforme), potreste anche riuscire a scorgere due incavi frontali, ai quali potrebbero corrispondere le orbite degli occhi della "Creatura"...MareKromiumFeb 13, 2014
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Titan-MF-EB-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgLakeland (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Elisabetta Bonora and Marco Faccin/LXTT/IPF)131 visiteUn esempio di come cambia la "visione" di un Mondo, quando si passa dai Colori Naturali (ossia i colori di un Corpo Celeste visti attraverso "Occhi Elettronici") ai Colori Naturali Assoluti (ossia i colori di un Corpo Celeste visti attraverso "Occhi Umani Medi"). Si noti, per Diritto ai Crediti e per Onestà Intellettuale, che la dizione "Colori Naturali Assoluti" è il prodotto di una tecnica di colorizzazione delle immagini totalmente basata sull'impiego di "Luci Virtuali", è un prodotto "Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation" e, per quanto attiene il suo "merito", poggia su assunzioni che, sebbene razionali e scientificamente accettabili (visione media, percezione dei colori media e percezione della luminosità media nell'occhio umano), nei fatti potrebbero rivelarsi errate. Questo solo per dire che noi NON pretendiamo di avere la Verità fra le mani, ma applichiamo un Approccio Razionale nella ricerca della Verità stessa.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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Titan-MF-EB-LXTT-IPF~0.jpgLakeland (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Elisabetta Bonora and Marco Faccin/LXTT/IPF)97 visiteIl Polo Nord di Titano, con i suoi Grandi Laghi di "Idrocarburi Affioranti" che emergono dalla nebbia. Bellissima.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-To_Ngoc_Van_Crater-PIA15201-PCF-LXTT-IPF-01.jpgTo Ngoc Van (EDM - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)98 visiteIn this beautiful Extra Detail Magnification (or "EDM" for short) which has been taken from a picture obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on November, 8, 2011, we can see, once again, prominent, near the center of the degraded Impact Crater To Ngoc Van, an interesting (and really irregularly shaped) Collapse Pit (approx. 20 Km - such as about 12,42 miles - across). As a matter of fact, many samples of Impact Craters with one (or more) Collapse Pit/s located on their Floors, have already been identified across the Mercurian Surface and - most likely - they all formed as a consequence of (extremely ancient) phenomena of Explosive Volcanism. To be more specific, we, as IPF, do believe that the aforementioned phenomena of Explosive Volcanism that caused the formation of Pits inside a great number of Mercurian Impact Craters, was, most likely, triggered by the Impacts themselves and the subsequent powerful Shock-Waves that deeply altered the Sub-Surface of a Planet which - at the time when most of the Impacts took place - was still Geoilogically Active (we could say that, in those - remote - times when its Surface was so heavily battered, Mercury was, however, still "alive" - at least from a Geological point of view).
Date acquired: November, 8th, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229277972
Image ID: 988708
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 52,89° North
Center Longitude: 248,60° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 60,3° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 29,7° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 23,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 83,4°
This picture (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 15201) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-To_Ngoc_Van_Crater-PIA15201-PCF-LXTT-IPF-00.jpgTo Ngoc Van (CTX Frame - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)84 visiteIn this beautiful view obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on November, 8, 2011, we can see, once again, prominent, near the center of the degraded Impact Crater To Ngoc Van, an interesting (and really irregularly shaped) Collapse Pit (approx. 20 Km - such as about 12,42 miles - across). As a matter of fact, many samples of Impact Craters with one (or more) Collapse Pit/s located on their Floors, have already been identified across the Mercurian Surface and - most likely - they all formed as a consequence of (extremely ancient) phenomena of Explosive Volcanism.
Date acquired: November, 8th, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229277972
Image ID: 988708
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 52,89° North
Center Longitude: 248,60° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 60,3° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 29,7° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 23,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 83,4°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 15201) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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Europa-Ridges-PIA17737-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgFeatures of Europa (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)96 visiteThis image, taken by the NASA - Galileo Spacecraft on February, 2, 1999, shows us huge Cracks and Ridges on the Surface of the Jovian moon Europa. These (absolutely fascinating) Features reveal a complex Geologic History of Europa. Some Ridges, such as the prominent one, at the top right of the frame, develop into several long, arc-shaped "Cycloids" (---> a Cycloid is the curve traced by a point on the rim of a circular wheel as the wheel rolls along a straight line), that could reasonably be related to the changing Tidal Forces as Europa orbits the Gas-Giant Planet Jupiter. The Wall of this Ridge stands perhaps a third of a mile (approx. 0,5 Km) above the surrounding Ridged Plains, although their Edges are - likely - NOT as steep as they appear in this view.
The view was captured by the NASA - Galileo Spacecraft on February 2, 1999, during its E19 orbit, when the spacecraft was about 2500 miles (such as approx. 4023 km) from the Surface of Europa. The Resolution in the scene is roughly 295 feet (such as approx. 89.91 meters) per pixel. North is toward bottom left side of the picture.
This frame (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - Galileo Spacecraft enhanced color image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17737) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid visibility of the Surface details and then re-colorized, according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga/LXTT/IPF, in what they should be its Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Galileo Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of the Jovian moon Europa), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among others, the existence of different Elements present on the Surface of Europa, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.
Note: it is possible (but we, as IPF, have no way to be one-hundred-percent sure of such a circumstance), that the actual luminosity of Europa- as it is in this frame - would appear, to an average human eye, a little bit lower than it has been shown (or, better yet: interpreted) here.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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North_Polar_Regions-North_Polar_Erg-PIA17866-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgSpring over the North Polar Erg (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)80 visiteIn this VIS image, taken by the NASA - Mars Odyssey Orbiter on December, 1st, 2013, and during its 53.077th orbit around the Red Planet, we can see, once again, the Erg (---> Sea/Ocean of Dunes) that surrounds the North Polar Cap of Mars. It is Springtime, now, at the North Pole (---> in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars) and the Dunes are starting to lose their Frost cover. As the season continues towards Summer, the Dunes will appear darker and darker, as the Frost sublimates.
Specifically, throughout the accurate observation (and, even more, after the colorization) of the landscape that is shown here, we are able to easily notice that, in this portion of the North Polar Erg (a portion that is positioned a little more towards the South of the Northern Hemisphere - as compared to the Latitude of the Region observed during the 53.076th orbit of the NASA - Mars Odyssey Orbiter), there has been more Frost lost from the Dunes, and this circumstance caused them to appear darker than the Dunes that were shown in yesterday's APOD.
Latitude (centered): 79,990° North
Longitude (centered): 128,365° East
Instrument: VIS
This image (which is an Original Mars Odyssey Orbiter b/w and Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17866) has been additionally processed, magnified, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Mars Odyssey Orbiter and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mars), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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North_Polar_Regions-North_Polar_Erg-PIA17865-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgSpring over the North Polar Erg (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)86 visiteIn this VIS image, taken by the NASA - Mars Odyssey Orbiter on December, 1st, 2013, and during its 53.076th orbit around the Red Planet, we can see the Erg (---> Sea/Ocean of Dunes) that surrounds the North Polar Cap of Mars. It is Springtime, now, at the North Pole (---> in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars) and the Dunes are starting to lose their Frost cover. As the season continues towards Summer, the Dunes will appear darker and darker, as the Frost sublimates.
The bright (and round, as we have found out using other frames) spot visible on the upper side of the picture should be just a patch of Permanent Ice which is located (and therefore, somehow, protected) inside a relatively shallow Depression of the Surface - possibly (but we have no way to be sure), an almost rimless and very old Impact Crater. You can take a look, if you wish to get a few more visual information about this area, at the APOD of April, 1st, 2013.
Latitude (centered): 80,267° North
Longitude (centered): 157,439° East
Instrument: VIS
This image (which is an Original Mars Odyssey Orbiter b/w and Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17865) has been additionally processed, magnified, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Mars Odyssey Orbiter and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mars), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromiumGen 30, 2014
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