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MarsDial
The MarsDial is a sundial that was devised for missions to Mars. It is used to calibrate the Pancam cameras of the Mars landers. MarsDials were placed on the ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' Mars rovers, inscribed with the words "Two worlds, One sun" and the word "Mars" in 22 languages. The MarsDial can function as a gnomon, the stick or other vertical part of a sundial. The length and direction of the shadow cast by the stick allows observers to calculate the time of day. The sundial can also be used to tell which way is North, and to overcome the limitations of a magnetic north different from a true north. The sundial design team included Bill Nye "The Science Guy," space artist Jon Lomberg, and astronomers Woodruff Sullivan, Steve Squyres, James Bell and Tyler Nordgren. CAD design and drawings were done by Jason Suchman. The MarsDial was intended to be part science outreach, part calibration target. ''Curiosity'' (MSL), the rover which landed on Mars in August 2012, used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MarsDial And Rock Spirit
The MarsDial is a sundial that was devised for missions to Mars. It is used to calibrate the Pancam cameras of the Mars landers. MarsDials were placed on the ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' Mars rovers, inscribed with the words "Two worlds, One sun" and the word "Mars" in 22 languages. The MarsDial can function as a gnomon, the stick or other vertical part of a sundial. The length and direction of the shadow cast by the stick allows observers to calculate the time of day. The sundial can also be used to tell which way is North, and to overcome the limitations of a magnetic north different from a true north. The sundial design team included Bill Nye "The Science Guy," space artist Jon Lomberg, and astronomers Woodruff Sullivan, Steve Squyres, James Bell and Tyler Nordgren. CAD design and drawings were done by Jason Suchman. The MarsDial was intended to be part science outreach, part calibration target. ''Curiosity'' (MSL), the rover which landed on Mars in August 2012, used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jon Lomberg
Jon Lomberg (born 1948) is an American space artist and science journalist. He was Carl Sagan's principal artistic collaborator for more than twenty years on many projects from 1972 through 1996. In 1998, the International Astronomical Union officially named an asteroid ( 6446 Lomberg) in recognition of his achievements in science communication. He was NASA's Design Director for the Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft; the cover he designed is expected to last at least a billion years. Biography Jon Lomberg grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During a visit to Toronto, Ontario, after college, he was invited by science fiction author Judith Merril to display his artwork at a conference she organised for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Lomberg moved to Toronto later that year and, after assisting Merril in a radio documentary for the CBC Radio One program ''Ideas'', went on to create many documentaries on topics such as NASA's Viking program and Halley's Com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1993–1999) and the Netflix show ''Bill Nye Saves the World'' (2017–2018), and for his many appearances in popular media as a science educator. Born in Washington, D.C., Nye began his career as a mechanical engineer for Boeing in Seattle, where he invented a hydraulic resonance suppressor tube used on Boeing 747, 747 airplanes. In 1986, he left Boeing to pursue comedy—writing and performing for the local Sketch comedy, sketch television show ''Almost Live!'', where he regularly conducted wacky science experiments. Aspiring to become the next Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard, Nye successfully pitched the children's television program ''Bill Nye the Science Guy'' to Seattle's public television station, KCTS-TV. The show ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyler Nordgren
Tyler Eugene Nordgren (November 18, 1969) is an astronomer and professor of physics at the University of Redlands. Education Nordgren earned a B.A. in physics from Reed College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in astronomy from Cornell University. Research Before joining the University of Redlands in 2001, Nordgren was an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station and Lowell Observatory. In 2004, with six other astronomers and artists, Nordgren helped develop MarsDials, functioning sundials that NASA's ''Spirit'', ''Opportunity'', and ''Curiosity'' rovers carried with them to Mars. Nordgren also designed the giant sundial that resides on the wall of Appleton Hall at the University of Redlands and is accurate within 10 minutes. For the past five years, Nordgren has been traveling around the U.S. to educate the public about what eclipses are and how the opportunity to see the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 should not be missed. More of Nordgren's research ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnomon
A gnomon (; ) is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term is used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields. History A painted stick dating from 2300 BC that was excavated at the astronomical site of Taosi is the oldest gnomon known in China. The gnomon was widely used in ancient China from the second century BC onward in order to determine the changes in seasons, orientation, and geographical latitude. The ancient Chinese used shadow measurements for creating calendars that are mentioned in several ancient texts. According to the collection of Zhou Chinese poetic anthologies ''Classic of Poetry'', one of the distant ancestors of King Wen of the Zhou dynasty used to measure gnomon shadow lengths to determine the orientation around the 14th century BC. The ancient Greek philosopher Anaximander (610–546 BC) is credited with introducing this Babylonian instrument to the Ancient Greeks. The ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer Oenopides used the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pancam
Each Pancam is one of two electronic stereo cameras on Mars Exploration Rovers ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity''. It has a filter wheel assembly that enables it to view different wavelengths of light and the pair of Pancams are mounted beside two NavCams on the MER camera bar assembly. According to Cornell University it can work with Mini-TES to analyze surroundings. According to a paper about Mars by JPL, the Pancam system can achieve an angular resolution of 300 microradians, which is three times better than the human eye. It can observe 14 spectral bands, and with two side-by side cameras can generate stereoscopic views of Mars, supporting the creation of large Mars panoramas in excess of 10 Gbit uncompressed. ''Spirit'' rover took the highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet up to that time when it landed in 2004. Optics The focal length of the camera is 43 mm with a field of view (FOV) of 16° x 16°. The two cameras are separated by 30&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voyager Golden Record
The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form who may find them. The records are a time capsule. Although neither Voyager spacecraft is heading toward any particular star, ''Voyager 1'' will pass within 1.6 light-years' distance of the star Gliese 445, currently in the constellation Camelopardalis, in about 40,000 years. Carl Sagan noted that "The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space, but the launching of this 'bottle' into the cosmic 'ocean' says something very hopeful about life on this planet." Background The ''Voyager 1'' probe is currently the farthest human-made object from Earth. Both ''Voyager 1'' and ''Voyager 2'' have reached interste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenix (spacecraft)
''Phoenix'' was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. ''Phoenix'' was operational on Mars for sols ( days). Its instruments were used to assess the local habitability and to research the history of water on Mars. The mission was part of the Mars Scout Program; its total cost was $420 million, including the cost of launch. The multi-agency program was led by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, with project management by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Academic and industrial partners included universities in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates (MDA) and other aerospace companies. It was the first NASA mission to Mars led by a public university. ''Phoenix'' was NASA's sixth successful landing on Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curiosity (rover)
''Curiosity'' is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Gale crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. ''Curiosity'' was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a journey. Mission goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology, assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life (including investigation of the role of water), and planetary habitability studies in preparation for human exploration. In December 2012, ''Curiosity'' two-year mission was extended indefinitely, and on August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the ''Curiosity'' rover landing. On August 6, 2022, a detailed overview of accomplishme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars Analemma Time Lapse Opportunity
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere (less than 1% that of Earth's), and has a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes and polar ice caps. It has two small and irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and Deimos. Some of the most notable surface features on Mars include Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain in the Solar System and Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The Borealis basin in the Northern Hemisphere covers approximately 40% of the planet and may be a large impact feature. Days and seasons on Mars are comparable to those of Earth, as the planets have a similar rotation period and tilt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars Exploration Rover Mission
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere (less than 1% that of Earth's), and has a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes and polar ice caps. It has two small and irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and Deimos. Some of the most notable surface features on Mars include Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain in the Solar System and Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The Borealis basin in the Northern Hemisphere covers approximately 40% of the planet and may be a large impact feature. Days and seasons on Mars are comparable to those of Earth, as the planets have a similar rotation period and tilt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Message Artifact
A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus. A message can be the content of a broadcast. An interactive exchange of messages forms a conversation. One example of a message is a press release, which may vary from a brief report or statement released by a public agency to commercial publicity material. History Roles in human communication In communication between humans, messages can be verbal or nonverbal: * A verbal message is an exchange of information using words. Examples include face-to-face communication, telephone calls, voicemails, email etc. * A nonverbal message is communicated through actions or behaviors rather than words, such as conscious or unconscious body language. In computer science There are two main senses of the word "message" in computing: messages be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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