Astronomy Picture of the Day

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.

July 22, 1997
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download 
 the highest resolution version available.

A Presidential Panorama of Mars
Credit: IMP Team, JPL, NASA

Explanation: Scroll right to unfold the latest panorama of the surface of Mars. For best viewing, click and hold on the right arrow icon at the bottom of your browser window. This image, released yesterday and dubbed a "presidential panorama" by the Mars Pathfinder team, shows in colorful detail the surroundings of the Sagan Memorial Station. Now look closely at the big rock midway through the scrolling picture. That rock is called Yogi and just to its left is the robot Sojourner Rover taking measurements of it. Other now-famous rocks are also visible including Barnacle Bill and Flat Top. After this picture was taken Sojourner went on to analyze a rock named Scooby Doo. Intermittent communications problems continue to cause occasional delays in downloading data and images from Mars Pathfinder.

Tomorrow's picture: A Hale-Bopp Triple Crown


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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC
&: Michigan Tech. U.