Alien Anomalies

In one of O'Brien's previous posts is the link to an excellent book chapter on the Rover cameras & lenses. It gives lots of technical details (some of the optics and technical diagrams go straight over my head) about the optics, camera specs, CCDs, lenses, etc. Generally, though I found the parts I read, easy to read and understand.

One thing which I though was particularly worth mentioning, and I think I have understood this correctly, was that all the camera CCDs (thats the electronic light sensitive part that replaces a film in standard cameras) have 1024 x 1024 12x12um pixels.

As an example of the information in there, Pancams have a depth of field (which means things are in focus within this range) from 1500mm onwards, Distortion is less than 0.01% and image illumination at the edge is over 90% that in the centre.

The other cameras have different specs but all have these 1024x1024 pixel CCDs and a depth of field which means that as long as objects are beyond the minimum distance, they should be in focus.

Some of these facts mean that we can now know what we should be expecting from the cameras on the Rovers. Where we see a picture that is out of focus, as some of them are, we can work out how close the objects are to the lens! Where we see some terrible detail in the picture, we can know that the cameras with these lenses are taking pictures of a far better quality and the degredation in quality is produced after the photograph has been taken. (some of which we knew anyway) It must be terribly frustrating to be the designer of these lenses and cameras and then see what is produced for general consuption. The public must think they are no better than an old pin-hole or mobile phone camera!

As I was unaware of many of the facts in this document, I am sure that many of the public take for granted the terrible images we get from NASA. What the Rovers have, is a superb camera and lens system which should provide some really fantastic images - and I am sure they do, but not for us unfortunately.

We have a member of this forum who is supremely knowledgable about the Rovers camera and lens systems - possibly more so than anyone else - so we need to find out as much as we can by both reading this document and from asking O'Brien himself.

I hope I have got the information correct that I have reposted from the part of the document I have read, but members are encouraged to read it for themselves and if they feel it would be useful, to buy the whole book. Perhaps I might get a commission on any bought??

Link to Chapter 31 The Mars Rover Camera Lenses