Another fuzzy Dawn image?
Another image of Vesta from Dawn has been released. This image was taken on July 9 from a distance of 26,000 miles away. It is definitely an improvement over the previous image, with more small details becoming visible. However, I once again wonder about the softness of the image. Look at the limb of the planet. It is soft against the black sky. This is not what one would expect from perfectly focused camera.
Dawn goes into orbit around Vesta next week. We sure learn then for sure if there is a problem with its camera, or whether I am merely being a bit too nervous.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
ok this might be stupid and i’m halfway joking but what if the object itself is fuzzy? hehe . i’m sharing your concern . these pics aren’t sharp . if there’s something wrong with the focus it would be devastating . any mission faliures now will probably lead to worse budget cuts for all space projects
The caption says it was taken with the “Framing Camera.”
Is that camera mostly used for navaigation/star checks?
Perhaps the Hi-Res cameras havn’t been used yet.
There is no hi-res camera. There’s a mapping spectrometer that may show sharper detail but 150mm focal length is all she wrote, image-wise.
so we will get sharp images when dawn gets to orbit? well if the pics don’t get even prettier lets hope the scientific discoveries are extra pretty