vil1_v_c_o_TPMBK (Viking 1-56, P-17166 (color) Sol 4, pseudo PIA00564 eq)
“This is an alternate color version of a Viking 1 picture of Mars taken July 24 (see Viking 1-55). Note the orange cable leading to one of the spacecraft’s descent rocket engines (foreground). The cable, which is bright orange, appears dull. This suggests that this version is less accurate. This version has the same color balance as the other, but the colors are only 60% saturated. This means that 40% gray has been arbitrarily added during processing of data at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. When compared with the other version, the colors in this picture are predictably less intense, and, at first glance, more “normal.” The brightness of the cable is a clue to the true visual colors.”
This is not unlike the “first color photograph taken on the surface of Mars” faux pas. And, I can’t seem to find this image online…I guess because it’s incorrect/inaccurate. That’s kinda funny…ironic actually.
However, and as comparison, the brighter/”righter” version is available. In retrospect, is it really??? It’s caption:
"Viking 1 obtained this color picture of the Martian surface and sky on July 24. Camera no. 1 facing southeast, captured part of the spacecraft's gray structure in the foreground. A bright orange cable leads to one of the descent rocket engines. Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface, apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock. A zone of large dark boulders is present in the far-field. The sky has a reddish cast, which is probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere. This picture has been radiometrically calibrated, using information on camera performance acquired before launch. Although the colors are very vivid, the fidelity with which the bright orange cable is reproduced suggests that the intense colors of the Martian surface are, in fact, real."
At:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00564
Credit: JPL Photojournal website
vil1_v_c_o_TPMBK (Viking 1-56, P-17166 (color) Sol 4, pseudo PIA00564 eq)
“This is an alternate color version of a Viking 1 picture of Mars taken July 24 (see Viking 1-55). Note the orange cable leading to one of the spacecraft’s descent rocket engines (foreground). The cable, which is bright orange, appears dull. This suggests that this version is less accurate. This version has the same color balance as the other, but the colors are only 60% saturated. This means that 40% gray has been arbitrarily added during processing of data at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. When compared with the other version, the colors in this picture are predictably less intense, and, at first glance, more “normal.” The brightness of the cable is a clue to the true visual colors.”
This is not unlike the “first color photograph taken on the surface of Mars” faux pas. And, I can’t seem to find this image online…I guess because it’s incorrect/inaccurate. That’s kinda funny…ironic actually.
However, and as comparison, the brighter/”righter” version is available. In retrospect, is it really??? It’s caption:
"Viking 1 obtained this color picture of the Martian surface and sky on July 24. Camera no. 1 facing southeast, captured part of the spacecraft's gray structure in the foreground. A bright orange cable leads to one of the descent rocket engines. Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface, apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock. A zone of large dark boulders is present in the far-field. The sky has a reddish cast, which is probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere. This picture has been radiometrically calibrated, using information on camera performance acquired before launch. Although the colors are very vivid, the fidelity with which the bright orange cable is reproduced suggests that the intense colors of the Martian surface are, in fact, real."
At:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00564
Credit: JPL Photojournal website