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Emily Lakdawalla • Jul 30, 2012

Pretty Panoramas: Opportunity at Whim Creek

I know it’s been all Curiosity, all the time on this blog for the last couple of weeks, and that’s not likely to change much for the next couple of weeks. But I don’t want people to forget that there’s another rover exploring Mars’ ancient geology. How could I forget Opportunity, anyway, when she produces gorgeous views like this one? We’re looking at “Whim Creek”, a notch in the northern tip of Cape York that cuts through a couple of layers of rock. Here Opportunity is taking a look at this little gully-thing, with a lovely view of Endeavour’s rim on the far side:

Opportunity contemplates Whim Creek, sol 3020 (July 23, 2012)
Opportunity contemplates Whim Creek, sol 3020 (July 23, 2012) At the northern tip of Cape York, Opportunity looks at her own shadow cast across a notch in the hill named "Whim Creek." During the spring season at Meridiani, clear skies afforded a sharp view of the distant far rim of Endeavour crater.Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Michael Howard

Opportunity drove right across it the next day, on sol 3021. Thanks to Mike Howard for these pretty panoramic views; and thanks to John Williams at Terrazoom for zoomifying them for me! (Note: Zoomify requires Flash, so these pans won't work for you if you're reading on an iOS device. If you can't see the pans below, you can see them on Flickr here and here.)

And the same view, only this time in 3D (grab your red-blue glasses):

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