I downloaded it last week and on Roadrunner it took <5 mins!! STuart.
---- Pete Pete <rsvp...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Hi, all, > > I suggest not trying to download unless you aren't needing your computer for > a while. > My computer is new, and it took about fifteen minutes. > > I think it is worth the time, if you appreciate our little buddy. > > Cheers, > Pete > > > http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/116932598.html > http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/116932598.html > > > A Half-Gigabyte View of the Moon > > > Ever since NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter began circling the Moon at low > altitude in mid-2009, planetary scientists and the public have marveled at > the incredible trove of observations it's been beaming back to Earth. Most > often in the spotlight are the jaw-dropping closeups of Apollo landing sites > by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). It can resolve the surface > at 2 feet (0.5 m) per pixel — good enough to reveal even the paths worn in > the lunar soil by the astronauts' boots. > > A new 24,000-pixel-square mosaic from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter > shows the Moon's nearside as never before. Click here for a larger (but not > full-size!) version; a labeled version is here. > NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ.The work of LROC's wide-angle camera, which > provides surface context for those incredible narrow-angle shots, has largely > gone unheralded … until now. This past week the team released a new mosaic of > the Moon's near side taken entirely with wide-angle frames. Acquired during a > two-week period in December, the 1,300 black-and-white frames create a > full-disk mosaic measuring 24,000 pixels across. Gulp! > "As the Moon rotated under LRO's orbit," explains LROC team leader Mark > Robinson (Arizona State University), "the ground track progressed from east > to west (right to left in this mosaic)." The image run was timed to keep the > Sun high up in the lunar sky but not straight overhead (its altitude varied > from 69° to 82°). This created enough shadowing to define crater rims and > other topography crisply, unlike the shadow-free view that we see during a > full Moon. The combined image shows slight banding where the 1,024-pixel-wide > swaths were stitched together. > > A close-up of Rupes Recta (usually called the Straight Wall) from the new > LROC mosaic of the lunar nearside. Located near the eastern edge of Mare > Nubium, this steep-faced scarp is about 70 miles (114 km) long. > NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ.Weighing in at just 2 pounds (0.9 kg), > LROC's wide-angle camera is small enough to fit in your hand. It features an > aperture only 1.2 mm across and a focal length of just 6 mm (for > visible-light work). Yet from LRO's very low orbit, currently only 20 miles > (30 km) up, this mighty mite can pick out surface details as small as 250 > feet (75 m). Click here to view the specifications for LROC's wide- and > narrow-angle cameras. > The image looks dark because Robinson and his team have kept the Moon as it > really is: dark. On average, the lunar surface reflects only about 12% of the > sunlight that strikes it. So a full Moon really isn't dazzlingly bright — it > only looks that way to our eyes because of the contrast with the black sky > around it. > If your computer's up to it, you can download the full half-gigabyte mosaic > here. > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -- Stuart McDaniel Lawndale, NC ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
