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re: Opportunity visits new Crater - Fram

My god, that's beautiful! Thattiny crater just sitting there among the endless ripples, the rim and those perfect little rays shining brightly against the dark sand. Can't wait for the pancam images, but I suspect it actually works better in B&W -- I see some real possibilities in that scene.

Looks like something leftover from an Aerology 101 field demonstration: "Now stand back, kids, and put on your safety goggles -- all THREE eyes, Flxidiqt! -- and watch as Mr. Zzyyzx pushes the plunger... BOOM!"

Seriously, would be a good textbook illustration of how cratering processes scale down. We don't get them that small on earth, of course, and most lunar and martian surfaces are too saturated, eroded, and/or low-contrast to see little craters very clearly.

I don't envy the mission planners: do you spend a few weeks on this outcrop, and see how it differs (maybe we've up or down section a bit), or, do you give it a fairly quick look and continue towards those beckoning exposures of rock in Endurance...?

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