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[ManaByte]

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th martian day, or sol, on May 19. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol's data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset.

This small panorama of the western sky was obtained using Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters. This filter combination allows false color images to be generated that are similar to what a human would see, but with the colors slightly exaggerated.

In this image, the bluish glow in the sky above the Sun would be visible to us if we were there, but an artifact of the Pancam's infrared imaging capabilities is that with this filter combination the redness of the sky farther from the sunset is exaggerated compared to the daytime colors of the martian sky.

Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

its beautiful!

 

[The Shadow]

That's awesome. Just wish the image was larger. I'd stick that as my desktop wallpaper in a heartbeat.

 

[Matrix]

Sweet.

 

[demon]

Wow, what a weird image, a sunset on another planet. Cool

its beautiful!

:lol Took me a minute.

 

[aoi tsuki]

That's awesome. Just wish the image was larger. I'd stick that as my desktop wallpaper in a heartbeat.

The 800x600 images are at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07997.

Edit: Doh! The original image is 800x600. :lol

 

[Willco]

I really think I should've trademarked the Olimario's Dad = Clint Howard bit in retrospect.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I really think I should've trademarked the Olimario's Dad = Clint Howard bit in retrospect.

its too far gone now. Clint Howlimario=public domain.

 

[BuddyC]

Is it bad that I immediately think of Tattoine and hear Binary Sunset in my head?

Regardless, beautiful. Only wish it was bigger. Oh well. Upscale, upscale, upscale!

 

[aoi tsuki]

Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth.

On that note, i'd really like to see what the sun looks like from Mercury or Venus. Watching the setting sun take up half the horizon must look amazing.

 

[olimario]

It's amazing. Brought a tear to my eye. To think of all the amazing stuff we've never seen.

 

[RiZ III]

The fact the theres a little machine being controlled billions of miles still boggles my mind.

 

[AniHawk]

It's so strange to see that in color, like what it might look like to us to be there to watch it set. That is absolutely amazing.

 

[jett]

On that note, i'd really like to see what the sun looks like from Mercury or Venus. Watching the setting sun take up half the horizon must look amazing.

NASA, get on it, for great justice. Seriously, that really would look incredible.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

On that note, i'd really like to see what the sun looks like from Mercury or Venus. Watching the setting sun take up half the horizon must look amazing.

I don't think you would be able to see the sunset of venus because of the massive amount of cloud cover.

 

[AniHawk]

I don't think you would be able to see the sunset of venus because of the massive amount of cloud cover.

Besides, isn't it unbelievably hot on Venus?

 

[Templar Wizard]

that is a fantastic image.

 

[Tritroid]

Amazing...really makes you feel small and insignificant.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Awesome image! Really puts into perspective how insignificant we really are.

 

[number386]

Awesome, such a magnificent sight.

 

[Tritroid]

Besides, isn't it unbelievably hot on Venus?

IIRC, the surface of Venus is at least 10 times the temperature of the hottest tropical forest on Earth.

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

IIRC, the surface of Venus is at least 10 times the temperature of the hottest tropical forest on Earth.

Yeah. Venus averages around a cool and breezy 880 degrees farenheit (470 degrees celsius, or 740 Kelvin, depending on how you typically measure temperature).

I don't know how hot the average rain forest is, but I'd guess that's reasonably close (within 1-200 degrees) an order of magnitued beyond the tropical rain forests here.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Besides, isn't it unbelievably hot on Venus?

And a surface pressure about 90 times that of earths (equivalent of 1 km down an ocean). What usually happened to the Russian probes that landed there, is that a couple minutes after landing, they decompressed and melted about the same time. Not a very hospitable place.

 

[Templar Wizard]

animated sunset>
http://www.space.com/images/h_opp_sunset_0226_02.gif

 

[123rl]

What a beautiful picture

 

[Spainkiller]

Words don't do it justice.

 

[themadcowtipper]

keep Olimario's Dad out of threads..sheesh next you know he will be appearing in Ron Howard's movies...