Open AccessWeek 4: Overcast skies as Sagan Station searches for “pale blue dot“
Author(s) -
Edgett Ken
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/97eo00215
Subject(s) - pathfinder , mars exploration program , astrobiology , telescope , atmosphere (unit) , meteorology , aeronautics , remote sensing , astronomy , geography , computer science , physics , engineering , library science
ARES VALLIS, MARS—Earth‐bound astronomers know the problem. You finally get your telescope time. You go up to the mountain. And it's socked‐in by clouds—you can't get the data. Now Mars Pathfinder knows the same problem. Pathfinder, also known as the Sagan Memorial Station, was attempting to observe the bright morning “star,” Earth. It was Pathfinder's sixteenth day on the planet, and Earth had risen several hours before the Sun. The IMP (Imager for Mars Pathfinder) team from the University of Arizona was eager to get this image of our home world—in part because it might inspire the public, and in part because Earth is one of a variety of astronomical targets that are used to help determine how much dust is suspended in the atmosphere.