Re: Mars Orbiter Sees Rover Tracks Among Thousands of New Images

From: Robert Casey (wa2ise_at_ix.netcom.com)
Date: 09/28/04 

Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:34:13 GMT

Jack Harrison wrote:
> Resolution of 50 cms per pixel for Mars! Excellent.
>
> The highest resolution routinely available from NOAA satellites
> orbiting Earth is 250 metres per pixel (Modis). It would be nice to
> see pictures of Earth to resolution of 50 cms per pixel. Landsat?
> But I can't find anything on internet.
>

Spysats are at least this good if not better. Spysats the
size of Hubble must be quite good. The atmosphere astronomers
complain about blurring their astro pictures probably don't
bother the spy sat guys, as sunlight on the items of interest
on the ground allow quick exposure settings in the cameras of
the spy sats. Before the atmosphere wiggles. Even at
night adaptive optics should be able to clean up the
atmospheric wiggles enough to see stuff. Someone who
knows the physics of optics for telescopes can probably make
a very good guess of the resolution one could get with say
a 1 meter reflector spy telescope. But the other guys will
just do their dirty work inside buildings or underground...

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