Cover photo by T15
A faint light glimmers on the Martian horizon—it is Deimos, Mars' second satellite. This serene landscape, captured by NASA's Perseverance rover, conveys 'another sky' on Mars. The image was created by combining 16 long-exposure shots, showcasing the quiet beauty of the Martian environment.
©︎ NASA/JPL-Caltech
Long-Exposure Photography and Noise Reduction: The Rover's Techniques
This photo was taken at 4:27 AM Martian time, in the darkness before dawn. Perseverance's navigation camera captured 16 frames, each with a maximum exposure of 3.28 seconds, resulting in a total exposure time of approximately 52 seconds. The images were combined onboard the rover before being transmitted to Earth.
To reduce noise, basic astrophotography techniques such as 'dark frame subtraction' and brightness correction for each matrix were employed.
Photo by MiuRa
Stars and Satellites: A Martian 'Morning Walk'
The photo also features the stars Regulus and Algieba from the Leo constellation. Deimos, a small satellite with a diameter of about 12.6 km, orbits Mars at a distance of approximately 23,460 km, completing one orbit in about 30 hours.
Though it appears as a mere point of light to the naked eye, this tiny speck evokes a sense of 'cosmic silence.' The photo was taken near the Woodstock Crater. The atmosphere, reminiscent of Earth's pre-dawn moments, may one day become a memory of 'mornings on Mars.'
