Photos of Martian landscapes
November 7, 2009 12:10 AM Subscribe
The frequently excellent photo-blog The Big Picture at the Boston Globe has posted a collection of stunning and, well, alien-looking photos of the martian landscape.
Be sure to check out the pictures of Pushkar below.
posted by ageispolis at 12:13 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by ageispolis at 12:13 AM on November 7, 2009
I just bought a Droid... and now I have wall paper for it! Awesome pics, really feeds my imagination, thx!
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:36 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:36 AM on November 7, 2009
...and previous to the pushkar ones are some great halloween/day of the dead pictures from around the globe. thanks for posting this!
posted by nangua at 1:07 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by nangua at 1:07 AM on November 7, 2009
I've produced cementitious casts that contain textures analogous to those seen in the first photo on the Big Picture website. It's fascinating how textures that occur at a large scale can also be seen at a small scale.
More profoundly, it's interesting how inorganic textures can mimic textures usually found only in biological systems, in this case dermal ridges on skin.
posted by Tube at 1:26 AM on November 7, 2009
More profoundly, it's interesting how inorganic textures can mimic textures usually found only in biological systems, in this case dermal ridges on skin.
posted by Tube at 1:26 AM on November 7, 2009
I had no idea mars had such diversity of features. It's easy to picture yourself hiking accross the Martian plain, skirting a dune.
I think I see canals.
posted by longsleeves at 2:01 AM on November 7, 2009
I think I see canals.
posted by longsleeves at 2:01 AM on November 7, 2009
My customary addendum: The Big Picture, by Metafilter's Own™ kokogiak.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:11 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:11 AM on November 7, 2009
Wow, Mars looks like crappy photoshop filters.
posted by Lou Stuells at 2:12 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by Lou Stuells at 2:12 AM on November 7, 2009
Beyond amazing - why do aerial photos of earth at the same distance look so boring? Does mars have more interesting geology to make up for the lack of critters?
posted by rainy at 3:02 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by rainy at 3:02 AM on November 7, 2009
Eerily lonely images of a Martian dust devil.
posted by futility closet at 3:16 AM on November 7, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by futility closet at 3:16 AM on November 7, 2009 [3 favorites]
This does it for me. I'm pretty much anti-Mars. But this collection of photos is pretty fascinating. So now I'm willing to concede that there is possibly something of some interest there -- but still not enough to be worth a manned trip.
posted by Faze at 4:08 AM on November 7, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by Faze at 4:08 AM on November 7, 2009 [2 favorites]
To me, this looks like the close up of some old fart's tattoo, complete with stretch marks.
posted by digsrus at 4:37 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by digsrus at 4:37 AM on November 7, 2009
I love how they all have a link to their location on Google Mars.
And, no matter how long I look at #8 and read that it's a crater, it looks like a protrusion on the Martian surface, not an indentation.
posted by jabberjaw at 6:05 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
And, no matter how long I look at #8 and read that it's a crater, it looks like a protrusion on the Martian surface, not an indentation.
posted by jabberjaw at 6:05 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
These are some of the most gorgeous photos I've seen. Many thanks.
posted by languagehat at 6:07 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by languagehat at 6:07 AM on November 7, 2009
Is that Marvin down there?
I think I see a Roman brush helmet ...
posted by bwg at 6:30 AM on November 7, 2009
I think I see a Roman brush helmet ...
posted by bwg at 6:30 AM on November 7, 2009
Beautiful, but Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids.
posted by squalor at 6:52 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by squalor at 6:52 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
> I think I see a Roman brush helmet ...
victoria crater is left over from an early test of the iludium q36 explosive space modulator. An itty-bitty one.
posted by jfuller at 7:36 AM on November 7, 2009
victoria crater is left over from an early test of the iludium q36 explosive space modulator. An itty-bitty one.
posted by jfuller at 7:36 AM on November 7, 2009
I would like to propose a standard for astronomy photos. From now on, they must only be displayed with "up" being where the light is coming from. I'm sick of having to hold my laptop upside down in order to tell what the heck I'm looking at.
posted by popechunk at 7:42 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by popechunk at 7:42 AM on November 7, 2009
Mother Nature on Mars = Creepy Bitch.
posted by uraniumwilly at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by uraniumwilly at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2009
And, no matter how long I look at #8 and read that it's a crater, it looks like a protrusion on the Martian surface, not an indentation.
Try downloading the photo and flipping it upside-down—that often solves the concave/convex problem.
posted by interrobang at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2009
Try downloading the photo and flipping it upside-down—that often solves the concave/convex problem.
posted by interrobang at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2009
They all look like microscopic pics to me -- closeups of fabric, paper, skin cells, microscopic creatures... Very cool!
posted by LordSludge at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by LordSludge at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2009
I want to register martianlandscapeorskindisease.com
posted by Nattie at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Nattie at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
Fantastic. So surreal that the photos seem like art. Thanks for this great post.
posted by bearwife at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2009
posted by bearwife at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2009
I would like to propose a standard for astronomy photos. From now on, they must only be displayed with "up" being where the light is coming from. I'm sick of having to hold my laptop upside down in order to tell what the heck I'm looking at.
agreed - I'd also like to have some indication of how large the area being viewed is.
these are fascinating, thanks
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:13 PM on November 7, 2009
agreed - I'd also like to have some indication of how large the area being viewed is.
these are fascinating, thanks
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:13 PM on November 7, 2009
Okay I followed one of the links here to Google Mars. The link didn't seem to work but I punched in mars.google.com anyway, and was greeted with a beautiful picture on which to pan and zoom etc.
What got me was that it was color-tinged by elevation, and some elevations were... below zero.... So on earth that means sea level is zero, but on mars? Who determines what is "zero elevation"? There's no ocean.
posted by marble at 5:19 PM on November 8, 2009
What got me was that it was color-tinged by elevation, and some elevations were... below zero.... So on earth that means sea level is zero, but on mars? Who determines what is "zero elevation"? There's no ocean.
posted by marble at 5:19 PM on November 8, 2009
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posted by cmoj at 12:12 AM on November 7, 2009 [1 favorite]