Comments on: Martian mesa… in 3D!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:42:47 +0000

I was trying to learn how to create anaglyphs when I stumbled upon this page and thought this pic was great, but I only had the green/magenta glasses that you get with movies like Coraline and My Bloody Valentine 3d (can get them at Blockbuster, etc.) so I decided to give it a whirl and make one for green/magenta glasses. So if you have those type of glasses you can see how it looks. I uploaded it to my website. I did more of the original images and it is really cool to be able to move around more of the original images to view other cool land features. Please note that I left the image at high res so the image is 4.1MB. Once downloaded make sure to save it locally and zoom to 100% for best viewing.

http://www.stephen-johnson.com/mars_green_magenta_3d.jpg

By: Gail

Gail — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:42:26 +0000

Chuckie, CHUCKIE?????? Is that YOU????

By: Bobthetangelo

Bobthetangelo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:40:38 +0000

How’d he get on Mars? THEY MUST WORSHIP HIM!!!

By: Bobthetangelo

Bobthetangelo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:34:18 +0000

HAHAHA! It looks like Aang!

By: Sundance

Sundance — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:35:58 +0000

Incidentally you can also do full-colour 3D using two _projectors_ and polarising screens (rather than red and green). That’s been used in theatres years ago, but teh craze for #D movies as basically waned.

And I see a one-eared koala…

By: T.E.L.

T.E.L. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:51:07 +0000

Doc, I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about. According to the HiRISE website, anyone is welcome to download the raw image data and process it using free software. I think that constitutes allowing the public (even the non-paying variety, since it’s open to non-U.S. citizens) to view the pics as-desired.

And if you don’t want to bother with that much work, there’s a link to pages full of the color stereo pairs that you can just download and do with as you please.

By: Drbuzz0

Drbuzz0 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:19:25 +0000

I see a smiley face – this is clear proof of a martian civilization. Richard Hoaglund has been proven right!

By: Doc Atomic

Doc Atomic — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:30:10 +0000

My point is that the paying public should be able to view the original hi-res files and preferably in full natural colour, instead of mere anaglyphic excuses – and, to be able to afford display panels of suitably-higher resolution as well. I don’t think either suggestion should be received as being unreasonable or impossible, and I’m wondering if any others may feel that there may be some merit to them instead. Is that not… human?

By: T.E.L.

T.E.L. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:15:34 +0000

Well Doc, I don’t know what to tell you then. Sounds like you’ve been in a far better position to know why they do it this way than anyone else here. So what’s your point in asking?

By: Doc Atomic

Doc Atomic — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:37:34 +0000

Who’s with me on this? And *higher-resolution* display panels that are also affordable as well, darn it! Let’s get some real _quality_ viewing time out of the huge public bucks that are spent on it! It won’t happen until people start assisting, by raising a large enough ruckus for the manufacturers to begin to take notice of – so, here’s my contribution. Thank you, and good evening.

By: Doc Atomic

Doc Atomic — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:14:27 +0000

To return to the original point, however, even uncrossing one’s eyes and de-focusing enough to allow one to observe _hi-res full-colour_ stereo pairs directly on a widescreen monitor is *still* far superior in effect to the anaglyphs, and simply involves editing copies of the original full-res files in order to align a stereo pair merge so that the resultant output would fit perfectly within the now-standard 16:9 or 16:10 display aspect ratios.

By: Doc Atomic

Doc Atomic — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:02:40 +0000

T.E.L.,

“But, I think the reason for the red-blue pics is that Mars researchers may spend rather lengthy spells poring over the images. Anaglyph allows them to avoid a pow’rful case of eyestrain.”

Other way around, I believe – the researchers I observed used stereo pairs from our Cartography department in the geological research establishment I once worked at, and they all had nice big light table work surfaces and Bausch & Lomb magnifying viewers to view them with. Anaglyphs, in comparison, produce far more strain because of their inherent limitation – the technology being capable of reproducing only a narrow spread of apparent monochromatic tones ranging from muddy grey to tinted fog, and with the whole constantly tinting back and forth between the two colours like a chameleon caught in a disco. No – in comparison, the stereo-pairs-and-viewer option is vastly superior in quality and effect.

By: T.E.L.

T.E.L. — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:50:37 +0000

Doc Atomic,

Way back in the early ’70s NASA published a series of booklets on the Apollo missions. Among other things, the books featured the occasional stereo-pair from lunar orbit or down on the surface. The pairs were fused by crossing the eyes, and the viewer was assisted by a “fusion spot” over each of the two pics. When the two spots were perfectly overlapped, the stereo pair were properly matched and the 3-D effect was perfect.

Of course, the pics themselves were still in black & white; but the books were only printed in B&W.

But, I think the reason for the red-blue pics is that Mars researchers may spend rather lengthy spells poring over the images. Anaglyph allows them to avoid a pow’rful case of eyestrain.

By: bigjohn756

bigjohn756 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:59:30 +0000

It looks like a stack of pancakes with an evil kitty face carved into the top.

By: Doc Atomic

Doc Atomic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:02:26 +0000

Why do these images always have to be presented in anaglyphic form, so as to require the use of bicoloured glasses in order to view them only in monochrome? Why can’t we view the actual left-eye and right-eye images side by side, in full colour? Uncrossing one’s eyes to look ‘through’ such a stereo pair is very easy, requires no glasses at all for viewing, and produces a far more realistic three-dimensional effect. So – where’s the pairs? Don’t people have dual-head monitor setups these days? Is this not the dawn of the third millennium? Anaglyphs are an obsolete technology, and are entirely unsatisfactory.

By: Atropos

Atropos — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:39:25 +0000

Looks a bit like the SkullCandy logo to me.

By: Zucchi

Zucchi — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:32:25 +0000

Note: “Embiggen” is from “The Simpsons” (and I think also “Futurama”); it’s used as a sort of in-joke.

By: Bookmarks for July 28th · LR2 Blogs

Bookmarks for July 28th · LR2 Blogs — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:00:48 +0000

[...] Martian mesa… in 3D! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine [...]

By: Doc Atomic

Doc Atomic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:31:25 +0000

Why do these images always have to be presented in anaglyphic form, so as to require the use of bicoloured glasses in order to view them only in monochrome? Why can’t we view the actual left-eye and right-eye images side by side, in full colour? Uncrossing one’s eyes to look ‘through’ such a stereo pair is very easy, requires no glasses at all for viewing, and produces a far more realistic three-dimensional effect. So – where’s the pairs? Don’t people have dual-head monitor setups these days? Is this not the dawn of the third millennium? Anaglyphs are obsolete technology, and are entirely unsatisfactory.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:23:27 +0000

Onion should do an article on “Ugliest child ever found on MArs. Pictures prove Neanderthal got there first.”

GAry 7

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:11:23 +0000

Ah, pareidolia, whether with or w/o the glasses, I have to say that, for a Martian child, that is about the ugliest kid ever,,,

OK. I’m old. I can be honest if I want,,,

GAry 7

By: Michael Kingsford Gray

Michael Kingsford Gray — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:19:28 +0000

I love theses anayglyphs, and this one is especially startling!

One thing that I do miss though, is a sense of scale.
How big would say a school bus be on the piccy?

By: Gonzo

Gonzo — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:29:51 +0000

@#2 (Darth)

You stoled my comment!!!

By: IBY

IBY — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:45:47 +0000

eww… The face looks like it has a humongous, ugly wart on its forehead. ^_^

By: T.E.L.

T.E.L. — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:17:30 +0000

HP,

The depth may be exaggerated. I just perused the HIRISE 3-D gallery, and I’ve noticed a lot of craters which seem to be extremely deep with respect to their diameters.