Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2020 March 6 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Mars Panorama from Curiosity Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]MSSS Explanation: [6]The Mars Rover named Curiosity recorded high-resolution, 360 degree views of its location on Mars late last year. The panoramic scene was stitched from over 1,000 images from Curiosity's Mast camera or Mastcam. In this version, captured with Mastcam's medium angle lens, the rover's deck and robotic arm are in the foreground, stretched and distorted by the extreme wide perspective. Just beyond the rover are regions of clay rich rock, evidence for an ancient watery environment, with a clear view toward more distant martian ridges and buttes. Gale crater wall runs across the center (toward the north) in the background over 30 kilometers in the distance. The upper reaches of Mt. Sharp are at the far right. Images to construct the panorama were recorded over 4 consecutive sols between local noon and 2pm to provide consistent lighting. [7]Zoom in to the panoramic scene and you can easily spot the shadow casting [8]sundial mounted on rover's deck (right). In July NASA plans to launch a [9]new rover to Mars named Perseverance. Tomorrow's picture: under the stars __________________________________________________________________ [10]< | [11]Archive | [12]Submissions | [13]Index | [14]Search | [15]Calendar | [16]RSS | [17]Education | [18]About APOD | [19]Discuss | [20]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell ([24]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply. [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC & [30]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2003/PIA23623_fig1.jpg 3. http://www.nasa.gov/ 4. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ 5. http://www.msss.com/ 6. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-snaps-its-highest-resolution-panorama-yet 7. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-snaps-its-highest-resolution-panorama-yet 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MarsDial 9. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/name-the-rover/ 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200305.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200306 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200307.html 21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 28. https://www.nasa.gov/ 29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 30. http://www.mtu.edu/