Gorgeous new images of the Martian surface (javascript required, but see below) taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft have been released:
Mars might not look like much from Earth, but close up, it's a perfect spectacle of natural beauty.
Since 2006, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft has been orbiting Mars snapping pictures of the surface with its HiRISE camera.
Here is a collection of some of the most incredible images the camera has taken over the years.
The HiRISE images shown here have false coloring that highlights distinct Martian features, like sand dunes shown in the image to the right. The false-coloring helps scientists see how the grooves and troughs of these features change over time.
We can only imagine the poetry future settlers on Mars will write when inspired by these landforms.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by melikamp on Saturday March 28 2015, @01:00AM
(Score: 3, Disagree) by c0lo on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:19AM
Which of exactly is your main problem? Is it you don't know what the code does, or is it that others (and not you) are "shoveling money"?
Javascript is a tool. Don't judge a tool by what others are using it for.
("the use of javascript in web pages must die" is different to "javascript must die")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by melikamp on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:56AM
My main problems are my utility bill and my CPU utilization. Why should I donate my resources? Things most users want are picture galleries, blogs, business fronts, embedded video, etc. All can be implemented in mark-up, so that a computer does exactly what users need to do—render the content they use—and nothing else. This is why I am genuinely interested in hearing about practical problems that javascript solves more efficiently than its alternatives—from the users' point of view.
javascript is not "just a tool". The language is a tool, granted, but here I am talking about the whole javascript ecosystem. I don't care if javascript-the-language lives or dies, I just doubt it's wise to execute any such powerful language blindly and over the web. It's in users' own interest to stop using javascript the way they do right now.
(Score: 2) by juggs on Saturday March 28 2015, @06:10AM
I came to say.. Hear! Hear!
Not that it will make any difference - that battle is lost.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday March 28 2015, @11:56AM
Look, mate, I agree with you up to a point. That point is: don't use javascript if there's no advantage for your clients, and publishing info falls into this category.
Let me give you an example of the contrary: maps+additional dynamic info (routes/direction, or traffic intensity... you get the picture): as a user, I'm happy the server to send the maps only once then get snaps of the dynamic info and let the browser render it in overlay - it's the difference between sending all the map image again with the dynamic info rendered serverside (potentially MB of data) vs sending perhaps 10K of info - why should I, the user, trade the cost of extra bandwidth consumption (think mobile) for the cost of extra CPU cycles (which are cheap).
Yes, I agree that the overuse of javascript is a problem (more an acute annoyment, rather). No, I don't think javascript and browser capable of executing it need to die.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by Ox0000 on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:25PM
Be serious now... needing javascript to present pictures and text... that's pretty much an indication of incompetence. Arguing that 'javascript' is just a tool doesn't help anyone here. It may very well just be a tool, but in this case, it's been horribly misused.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by martyb on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:30AM
Ugh! Guilty as charged — I failed to check the link and note that it required javascript. I've updated the story to include your link. Thanks for keeping me honest!
There's quite a wealth of information on that site. I found the anaglyph 3D [wikipedia.org] collection of images [uahirise.org] images to be especially interesting.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:36AM
But. but, we still all agree? Javascript must die so that Mars can live?
(Score: 2) by sudo rm -rf on Saturday March 28 2015, @06:03AM
Yeah, yeah, of course we do. Now go enjoy the pictures :)
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday March 28 2015, @06:55AM
Thanks for the permission. I find that many of these images appear to be glacial. Of course, they could be such even without the presence of water, dry ice would make just as good glaciers. But more the idea that we can gaze upon a topography of another world. Wow, just wow. And fuck Republicans.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Saturday March 28 2015, @01:51PM
Interesting! My first thought upon reading that was how did the density of dry ice compare to that of water ice? Would it be lighter, and thus less able to create glacial features?
Wikipedia to the rescue. It seems the density of water ice [wikipedia.org] is approximately 1 g/3 whereas the density of dry ice [wikipedia.org] varies, but usually ranges between about 1.4 and 1.6 g/cm3. In other words, dry ice is approximately 40%-60% more dense than water ice.
It's way too early in the morning for me to incorporate differences in atmospheric pressure between Mars and Earth and what the resulting density changes may be. Similarly, I'm ignoring whether colder temperatures would make martian soil more or less amenable to being moved by glaciers.
So, it certainly appears to me that dry ice could create glacial features on the Martian surface. Thanks for the thought experiment!
Or, I suppose, I could have just looked at the Wikipedia entry for Glaciers on Mars [wikipedia.org]! A great number of excellent HiRise images are there, as well as a discussion on both water ice and dry ice glacial features.
Wow, indeed!
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2015, @08:30AM
Well said melikamp (and thank you for the link).
JavaScript is completely useless. It's usually proprietary code. And a huge security issue. I passionately hate it.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday March 28 2015, @10:02AM
(I really want to know your opinion on this one.)
Really? Because it sounds like you've made up your mind for everyone already.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday March 28 2015, @01:09PM
Real men use Lynx, pal :-)
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by Ox0000 on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:28PM
I cURL into sed and awk...
pfff Kids these days
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 29 2015, @02:34AM
pfft real men use wget and butterflies,
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 29 2015, @03:14AM
argh!