Nasa’s much-loved Mars rover Curiosity has come up with a gem once again, sending home this postcard-worthy photo of an entire Martian day.
The panorama captures an awe-inspiring scene from the planet’s Marker Band Valley in incredible detail, including Curiosity’s own tracks in the famous red dirt.
The image is a composite of two panoramas taken at 9.20am and 3.40pm using the rover’s black-and-white navigation camera, which were then colourised by the team back on Earth. The blue hue represents the morning, and the yellow represents the afternoon.
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A statement from Nasa said: ‘By capturing the panoramas at two different times of day, the scene shows dramatic shadows similar to stage lighting coming in from the left and right of centre stage.
‘Additionally, it was winter at Curiosity’s location at the time these images were captured – shadows are sharper and deeper during winter, when dust is at its lowest in the Martian atmosphere.’
Curiosity spent about seven and a half minutes capturing each panorama, both composed of five photos.
The image shows off multiple features of the Martian landscape. Two hills, Bolivar and Deepdale, can be seen close by – Curiosity drove between them while exploring Paraitepuy Pass.
The rover is currently in the Gale crater, the edge of which can be seen in the distance – and beyond that, the tip of a mountain 54 miles away.
Back in the Marker Band Valley, Curiosity recently discovered signs of an ancient lake.
And another photo taken by the rover earlier this year also had the internet in a spin. What appeared to be a line of spines or bones poking out of the rock led to speculation of an ancient fish or Martian dragon. The image was captured on Sol 3,786, also known as April 1 back on Earth.
However, it wasn’t a practical joke – nor a dinosaur. It was just a rock.
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