Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Rover Captures Sunset, Eclipse on Mars

Sunset view from Mars, via the Opportunity rover.

The Opportunity rover’s latest accomplishments? Cinematographer. Two new movies created by images taken by the long-lasting rover show a blue-tinted Martian sunset, while another clip shows the Mars’ moon Phobos passing in front of the sun. “These visualizations of an alien sunset show what it must have looked like for Opportunity, in a way we rarely get to see, with motion,” said rover science team member Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University. Dust particles make the Martian sky appear reddish and create a bluish glow around the sun.
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Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Universe Today Welcomes Spacevidcast


You may have noticed a couple of recent posts that included videos from the great folks at Spacevidcast. Universe Today is proud to announce that Spacevidcast will now be a regular feature here on UT, so we hope you’ll enjoy all the additional content and videos you’ll see from Spacevidcast — which has the stated (and honorable!) goals of educating “the planet on the values of space flight” and to “open up the cosmos and truly make space commonplace for everyone on the planet.”

In addition to the features you’ll see on Universe Today, Spacevidcast also does daily on-demand episodes, weekly live shows and live HD coverage of major space events. So check out Spacevidcast’s site for more information. And give Benjamin and Cariann Higginbotham and their team a warm, Universe Today welcome!