Near True Color From Phoenix
Near “true” color made by Gordan Ugarkovic using the only RED, GREEN and BLUE filtered images returned from the mission thus far. Additional adjustments were made by looking at the logo and the American flag (which we have an idea of what those color are supposed to look like) and adjusting the color of those items to appear as what we know are “true colors”. Logic then dictates that if those items are correctly balanced, then the Martian soil will also appear close to accurate.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:41 am
It would be interesting if both may discuss how did they arrive at the colorized image, so we can understand the protocols and possible traps of both.
Also, to me, the USA flag colours look quite wrong in both versions. I suspect however they did use the flag and the probe as a known “standard”… I’d like to know how did that turn out.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Neither of these shots can really be called “true color” because they’re fudge jobs using raw data. Calibrated imagery needs to be used to get proper relative filter brightnesses and careful channel mixing due to filter wavelengths used.
I was playing around with channels mixes to more-or less match the color image of the terrain released so far (even though that one was based on infrared and violet filters only) and match this image of the DVD: http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z213/effinglibrarian/phoenix_dvd.jpg
In particular, matching the colors of the Phoenix mission insignia.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:59 am
i figured that was why you both chose that image to work with. i’ll add language.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:07 am
P.S. That’s the only full RGB set that’s down at the moment, actually. That’s why everyone’s been working with this view.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:10 am
So, wouldn’t the original post have been accurate? It says “near” true color. What would lead one to think this isn’t close to natural (other than the usual things that make all images not really true color)?
May 27th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Well, because the two composites are obviously pretty different in color and especially contrast. Both can’t be right and neither probably is. This is as much a fudge-job as working with Cassini raw images are.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
There’s now the official release of this scene and, oddly enough, there are TWO images released:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/SS001RAD896308599_10D10RABCT2_full.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/S_001RAD_PER_S_10D10_RRGBM1.html
Funny, isn’t it?
May 27th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Huh, where is the original post? The two images etc.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
based upon gordan’s remarks above… it really became a mute point to show both. essentially the missing one was stacked while gordan’s was stacked and adjusted. i was originally under the impression there was missing data and they both arrived at separate points working with available data. since it was not that involved… i didn’t want to compare and contrast.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
however, i would love to get something on here with one of the pros explaining in layman’s terms why there are such variations from one image of a body to another.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Thank you thomas for the clarification.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
that is too funny that there are two images officially released.