Madsen Pirie

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) has taken some first class very detailed photographs.  This one is of Jupiter and some of its major satellites.  What makes it fascinating is that HiRISE has photographed it from Mars.  Because Mars is nearer to Jupiter than is the Earth, the resolution is akin to that achieved by the Hubble telescope in Earth orbit.  But HiRISE is in Mars orbit, the most powerful telescope to have left the vicinity of Earth.  The photo has been enhanced because the focussing mechanism was wrongly set, so the image has been ‘sharpened’ afterwards.  Also note that HiRISE sees more infrared than we do, so achieved different colours than the human eye would see.  Even with these caveats this is still a remarkable picture and sets me admiring once again the feats that science and technology are now capable of.  One day, I am sure, human beings will look through telescopes in Mars orbit and on the surface and will see fascinating sights.  But this is a good start.

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