this post was submitted on
1,488 points (68% like it)
2,746 up votes 1,258 down votes

pics

subscribe2,629,793 readers

4,669 users here now

For an image subreddit with minimal rules, check out /r/images

A place to share interesting photographs and pictures. Feel free to post your own, but please read the rules first (see below), and note that we are not a catch-all for general images (of screenshots, comics, etc.)

Spoiler code

Please mark spoilers like this:
[text here](/spoiler)

Hover over to read.

Rules

  1. No screenshots, or pictures with added or superimposed text. This includes image macros, comics, info-graphics and most diagrams. Text (e.g. a URL) serving to credit the original author is exempt.

  2. No gore or porn. NSFW content must be tagged.

  3. No personal information. This includes anything hosted on Facebook's servers, as they can be traced to the original account holder. Stalking & harassment will not be tolerated.

  4. No solicitation of votes (including "cake day" posts), posts with their sole purpose being to communicate with another redditor, or [FIXED] posts. DAE posts go in /r/DoesAnybodyElse. "Fixed" posts should be added as a comment to the original image.

  5. Submissions must link directly to a specific image file or to an image hosting website with minimal ads. We do not allow blog hosting of images ("blogspam"), but links to albums on image hosting websites are okay. URL shorteners are prohibited.

  6. No animated images. Please submit them to /r/gif, /r/gifs, or /r/reactiongifs instead.

  • If your submission appears to be filtered but definitely meets the above rules, please send us a message with a link to the comments section of your post (not a direct link to the image). Don't delete it as that just makes the filter hate you!

  • If you come across any rule violations, please report the submission or message the mods and one of us will remove it!

Please also try to come up with original post titles. Submissions that use certain clichés/memes will be automatically tagged with a warning.

Links

If your post doesn't meet the above rules, consider submitting it on one of these other subreddits:

Comics  
/r/comics /r/webcomics
/r/vertical /r/f7u12
/r/ragenovels /r/AdviceAtheists
Image macros Screenshots/text
/r/lolcats /r/screenshots
/r/AdviceAnimals /r/desktops
/r/Demotivational /r/facepalm (Facebook)
/r/reactiongifs /r/DesktopDetective
Wallpaper Animals
/r/wallpaper /r/aww
/r/wallpapers /r/cats
The SFWPorn Network /r/TrollingAnimals
  /r/deadpets
  /r/birdpics
  /r/foxes
Photography Un-moderated pics
/r/photography /r/AnythingGoesPics
/r/photocritique /r/images
/r/HDR
/r/windowshots
/r/PictureChallenge
Misc New reddits
/r/misc /r/britpics
/r/gifs Imaginary Network
/r/dataisbeautiful /r/thennnow
/r/picrequests /r/SpecArt
/r/LookWhoIMet
  /r/timelinecovers
  /r/MemesIRL
  /r/OldSchoolCool
  /r/photoshopbattles
  /r/PastAndPresentPics .

Also check out http://irc.reddit.com

a community for

reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. vote on links that you like or dislike and help decide what's popular, or submit your own! learn more ›

top 200 commentsshow all 231

[–]tehcrs 179 points180 points ago

[–]kendalltristan 534 points535 points ago

To further elaborate on the method, the rover essentially extends an arm and takes an awful lot of pictures of itself from several angles. Those pictures are then stitched together to form one cohesive image with no evidence of the arm holding the camera.

Example: Imaging taking your own picture. Hold the camera with your right hand and take one snapshot, then hold it with the left hand and take another snapshot. Take approximately half of each snapshot, put them together in photoshop, and voila.

[–]JamesVega 398 points399 points ago

Just did this to illustrate your point. here's how i did it.

[–]Malplace 447 points448 points ago

[–]jeffanie96 75 points76 points ago

I upvote this gif every time I see it.

[–]Malplace 307 points308 points ago

[–]jeffanie96 44 points45 points ago

love it

[–]zodiark1991 9 points10 points ago

Yup, still love that gif

[–]Macintosh_HD -3 points-2 points ago

I see what you did there.

[–]kendalltristan 4 points5 points ago

Bravo, sir.

[–]ssocks 2 points3 points ago

you should get that mole looked at :/

[–]JamesVega 1 point2 points ago

are you talking about the dark spot on my left hand which is actually my knuckle or the small mole on my right index finger?

EDIT: or the one on my forehead that's just a popped pimple?

[–]ssocks 0 points1 point ago

nono that other one. you don't see it?

[–]nigol67 0 points1 point ago

lol... awesome

[–]CthulhuSleeping 73 points74 points ago

Thank you for actually answering the OP. Reddit is a funny place, but it gets boring as hell sifting through stupid one-liners people only throw out for karma, to try to find real information. You're a badass.

[–]tomthefear 148 points149 points ago

Where's the duckface?

[–]AntiMe 206 points207 points ago

Duckface is unachievable on Mars, that's one of the main reasons we're exploring it.

[–]HoboYellow 52 points53 points ago

I like you.

[–]wickedang3l 15 points16 points ago

So the Mars Rover is a narcissist.

[–]kendalltristan 3 points4 points ago

If I had to guess, I'd say that the images were taken to check for damage and/or dust build up and the final image put together by someone at NASA with a bit of an artistic side and a damn good understanding of how to go about editing perspective in an image editor. I'd also guess that the final image was put together entirely for PR related purposes.

[–]cjh79 1 point2 points ago

But the rover has only one arm, right? I can't get my head around how this is possible. Imagine trying to do as you describe, but with only your right arm. You can't get your entire right arm into the shot no matter what you do.

[–]kendalltristan 3 points4 points ago

The arm itself doesn't appear in the image at all in this case, not even attached to the rover where it should be, thus indicating that the camera will have been maneuvered to a series of angles and the individual images would have to have quite a perspective shift in post processing in order to achieve the final image. It's very clever and requires some interesting math to pull it off, but it's entirely possible.

EDIT: I have the next couple of days off, so I might do a video on how to achieve this type of image using a mock up if I can find the necessary things laying around my apartment. No promises, but I'll see.

[–]cjh79 0 points1 point ago

Yeah, it's the missing arm => rover attachment that is messing me up. But I can see how they did it now. If you look at a higher res version, you can see that where the arm should be attached, the image is kind of messed up. It looks like they just chose to stitch images that don't contain the arm, and so it is ultimately "erased".

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/PIA16239-MarsCuriosityRover-SelfPortrait-Rocknest-20121102-HiRez.jpg

[–]tROubLEd_ONe 0 points1 point ago

Commenting to come back and verify. I'll be honest. I swear.

[–]TheSystem_IsDown 5 points6 points ago

Imagine taking your own picture. Hold the camera with your right hand and take one snapshot, then hold it with the left hand and take another snapshot. Take approximately half of each snapshot, put them together in photoshop, and voila.

That's actually a good idea

[–]kendalltristan 2 points3 points ago

Thanks. Try it sometime. It's harder than it sounds as we humans lack the precision that robots do, but I've seen some very cool results.

[–]AhhhClem 0 points1 point ago

As it turns out my guess was correct. The camera used is the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and is not visible in the montage. I wonder why I got downvotes for being right.

[–]TNitroToluene 0 points1 point ago

so this is almost the equivalent of duck-face on facebook...only it took a couple billion dollars.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]cake_a_peice 8 points9 points ago

Go Fuck yourself

[–]TheeSweeney 10 points11 points ago

must

know

original

comment

gaaah!

[–]Datsmell 0 points1 point ago

anybody? please...

[–]Ancel3 14 points15 points ago

Boy... That escalated quickly.

EDIT: The first guy said "Upvote for a good explanation" or something like that.

[–]fizdup 8 points9 points ago

Finally, someone on Reddit who knows the original quote. I can now get drunk.

[–]iLikeMen69 -1 points0 points ago

I mean that really got out of hand fast.

[–]habadacas 3 points4 points ago

from the source above

This high-res mosaic of 20 images is the first clear self-portrait of >NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on the Red Planet. The rear of the rover is >at top, with two right-side wheels on the left. The rim of Gale Crater >forms the lighter-color strip of the background. Images taken on Aug. >8 EDT, 2012. Released Aug. 17.

[–]HawaiianToast 0 points1 point ago

Sigh, space.com is such an aweful site to navigate... I always feel so conflicted when I end up there. I love the topic, but I want to throw up trying to view any of their content.

[–]tankscum 588 points589 points ago

Took a picture and then drove into the shot, space-time works different on mars.

[–]stellareddit 315 points316 points ago

It's more wibbly-wobbly

[–]Uriniass 38 points39 points ago

They could have two rovers on mars.

[–]SmilinBob82 46 points47 points ago

or maybe even 3 O_O

[–]Eldeeff 10 points11 points ago

Yeah! Lol. Imagine that! Haha they'd probably be so dusty they're stuck!

[–]halloni 71 points72 points ago

Wait a minute... JUST WAIT A MINUTE... dust? de_dust? Counter-Strike? Half-life mod? 3 rovers? OH MY GOD

[–]ita1y 22 points23 points ago

Confirmed 1!1!!!!!! !1one

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]RageCircuit 7 points8 points ago

It was really a set in California.

[–]infectedtwin 0 points1 point ago

Fucking haxxors

[–]xSARGEx117x 2 points3 points ago

Directed by M. Night Shyamalamadingdong

[–]Black-Fedora 18 points19 points ago

It's a good thing Curiosity didn't BLINK.

[–]AyaSeeker 10 points11 points ago

We can see them just fine, we just forgot. And keep forgetting.

Wait, what was I talking about again?

[–]MetuZwei 7 points8 points ago

llll

[–]Jorion 1 point2 points ago

Oh shit

[–]warsy26 1 point2 points ago

Dllll Dllll Dllll

[–]soady984 1 point2 points ago

Terrible. Have an up vote!

[–]Kosard -2 points-1 points ago

Like a stalker?

[–]Scotty_doesnt_kno 1 point2 points ago

Captured for the very first time

[–]804R 1 point2 points ago

timey-wimey

[–]Jesusman100 3 points4 points ago

Timmey Wimmey

[–]f0rcedinducti0n 0 points1 point ago

timey-whimey?

[–]physicsiscool 39 points40 points ago

Don't you know that there's a giant mirror on mars... All the rovers use it to take their fb profile pics. Glad to see Curiosity didn't do the duck face

[–]Seriouslysoftpillow 25 points26 points ago

Like when I spray cologne and walk into it.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points ago

I love the smell of my boyfriend's colon.

[–]XavierMendel 2 points3 points ago

It tastes about as good as it smells.

[–]wade_station 13 points14 points ago

It is the Les Stroud of Mars

[–]nthensome 0 points1 point ago

Survivormars?

[–]ufamizm 1 point2 points ago

[–]UrbanForest 27 points28 points ago

On Sol 84 (Oct. 31, 2012), NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture this set of 55 high-resolution images, which were stitched together to create this full-color self-portrait.

Source: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4845

[–]Allexan 58 points59 points ago

[–]Grasswalker 10 points11 points ago

What's the original post for this?

[–]Grasswalker 6 points7 points ago

Thank you very much.

[–]gmz_88 8 points9 points ago

It's a good one. People were asking how he took that first picture, then he posted the second one, and so on and so forth.

[–]karlbirkir 24 points25 points ago

Most appropriate use for a long time.

[–]1leggeddog 9 points10 points ago

"SHIT! THEY KNOW!! ABORT! ABORT!"

[–]JoeRuinsEverything 8 points9 points ago

Am i the only one who's thinking "holy crap, there's a man made object driving around on another planet" every time you see a picture of the Curiosity rover?

[–]urandomdude 1 point2 points ago

nope

[–]toadysherp 30 points31 points ago

in ten years this will be on infowars as proof of aliens.

[–]tevert 13 points14 points ago

StarScream.

[–]fizdup 7 points8 points ago

No, this was plainly Megatron. He has a much better sense of proportion and lighting.

[–]robbor 13 points14 points ago

Marvin.

[–]lbmouse 10 points11 points ago

[–]cb_dt 4 points5 points ago

Oh, that makes more sense. I was thinking this

[–]JamesLovesColoring 2 points3 points ago

I was thinking Starvin' Marvin in Space.

[–]ace_urban 4 points5 points ago

I took it, though I wish the rover hadn't been making that stupid duckface.

[–]fuzzycuffs 17 points18 points ago

It's a mirror shot. Duh.

[–]ukp42 2 points3 points ago

A bathroom mirror, but this one was cleaned first, & all the woman stuff cleared.

[–]bumblebeesscareme 2 points3 points ago

I can see an alien taking a dump in the background. Such a perfect photobomb.

[–]Nerd_Herd42 10 points11 points ago

The doctor took it.

[–]MikeSV 3 points4 points ago

NASA sent up a second rover specifically to take glamour shots of the first rover.

[–]LoftyDog 0 points1 point ago

Sent up a bathroom mirror and it's taking self shots with it.

[–]in-limbo 2 points3 points ago

Stitched together the images - thus removing those with the rovers arm.

http://news.yahoo.com/curiosity-rover-snaps-stunning-self-portrait-red-planet-173309294.html

[–]micktravis 2 points3 points ago

Even the tiniest amount of googling would have given you the obvious answer, which is that it was stitched together from multiple overlapping shots taken with a camera on some sort of articulated arm.

[–]JElliott8199 0 points1 point ago

Great caption

[–]Guy-Manuel 2 points3 points ago

It's a composite of multiple pictures taken by the rover of itself.

[–]JTyler82 3 points4 points ago

A weather balloon

[–]Kosard 3 points4 points ago

Am I the only one to see the footprints in front of the rover?

[–]kallekilponen 3 points4 points ago

Footprints? You mean the scoop marks where the rover has picked up samples?

[–]LMaCD 3 points4 points ago

The little dude driving in the round window lent his camera to a local, who then took the shot

[–]keeganos23 2 points3 points ago

The black guy

[–]Fultrose 0 points1 point ago

It was those revolting onion men!

[–]jon_claude_van_damme 1 point2 points ago

Mars looks very serene, peaceful. I wonder how quiet it is..

[–]AngryCod 6 points7 points ago

Martian atmospheric pressure averages .087 PSI (compared to Earth sea-level atmospheric pressure of 14.696 PSI). With such a thin atmosphere (and assuming you could survive without your helmet long enough to test), it's likely that you wouldn't be able hear anything at all.

ETA: For comparison, .087PSI is the Earth atmospheric pressure at around 116,000 feet (22 miles). The Red Bull Stratos jump was at 128,100 feet (24.26 miles).

[–]reagan2016 1 point2 points ago

It was taken in the bathroom mirror moments before being posted to Facebook.

[–]javikthetrollthean 0 points1 point ago

I did you fool. I have a summer home on Mars in some old Prothean Ruins. I just wanted to fuck with you idiots. Next time, I'll be putting a sock and some electrical tape over the cameras.

[–]TheMalkContent 0 points1 point ago

science

[–]veganlove 0 points1 point ago

holy. fuck.

[–]Rethen 1 point2 points ago

Nice upgrades Johnny 5!

[–]sethboy67 0 points1 point ago

Maybe it was the old Viking rover, I believe it is still operational.

[–]TheLoneHoot 1 point2 points ago

There are two of them. Neither still works. The first one was actually working about 7 years after landing but someone sent a bad command and shut down its antenna - no antenna, no way to send a correction signal.

I was 13 when the Viking probes landed. I remember the national excitement of waiting for the images to download. They came in in "slices" (vertical image slivers) at about 20 min a slice, so they took a long time to completely form. The anticipation was shared nationwide and was really cool. Most Redditors have grown up in the digital age and are not as amazed at things like this but for me, having grown up during the Apollo years and being a young teen when the space shuttle was being developed and drop tested, the Viking missions were (and still are) inspirational.

[–]Vallkin 0 points1 point ago

Google Earth

[–]bubbavic 0 points1 point ago

iPhone 5 panoramic shot, duh.

[–]brewphyseod 1 point2 points ago

You can see the silhouette in the camera :O

[–]arloun 0 points1 point ago

Don't ask.

[–]Pheonix320 0 points1 point ago

I still can't believe that's Mars

[–]sargentmyself 1 point2 points ago

Marvin the martian emailed to bugs bunny who put it on his twitter

[–]secsquared 0 points1 point ago

It found a mirror duh!

[–]Spadeshock 0 points1 point ago

Martians. Duh.

[–]motoXkidd 0 points1 point ago

"Aliens"

[–]EdgeofReason 0 points1 point ago

Sure is some smooth terrain on the left side...

[–]gam8it 0 points1 point ago

You can see the reflection of the person taking the shot in it's eye [lens] in it's Johnny 5 head

[–]GenesisHell 0 points1 point ago

I'm not saying it was aliens... but it was aliens.

[–]RicheTheBuddha 1 point2 points ago

Aliens.jpg

[–]haddada 1 point2 points ago

[–]durandal419 1 point2 points ago

[–]FlyingNerd 0 points1 point ago

The guy in the studio in the desert in Nevada.

[–]TheChosenOne_72 0 points1 point ago

I did.. No questions.

[–]Kevinmeowertons 1 point2 points ago

My guess would be that they took some hints from this guy.

[–]Dumbelfuk 1 point2 points ago

Stanley Kubrick

[–]Sozin91 0 points1 point ago

"Shit they're on to us" -NASA

[–]Kyoraki 0 points1 point ago

The rover took the picture in a mirror, duh.

[–]acdcdave1387 0 points1 point ago

Martians silly

[–]ndewhurst 0 points1 point ago

His girlfriend mom.

[–]FireThestral 0 points1 point ago

Aliens exist; confirmed.

[–]cellosaremetal 1 point2 points ago

[–]tehcw 1 point2 points ago

The arm that took the picture is right here.

[–]n3rvousninja -1 points0 points ago

the decepticons

[–]YNot1989 -1 points0 points ago

Dr. Manhattan. Duh.

[–]Bailliebugs 0 points1 point ago

To add on I know space holds awesome shit. I just think we can't even get close to it.. But I know it exists

[–]ksaj 0 points1 point ago

[–]UnderCoverPenisLover 0 points1 point ago

Mirror pic. duh

[–]russasaur 1 point2 points ago

all the pics used to stitch this shot together, http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=85&camera=MAHLI

[–]TilliusCimber 0 points1 point ago

Probably the lander...

[–]Soltheron 0 points1 point ago

Come now...it's pretty obvious.

[–]Sir_Berus 0 points1 point ago

Neil Armstrong. He's faked his death and escaped to mars to start society again, free of douchebags.

[–]cocktastic_voyage -1 points0 points ago

Hollywood sound stage cameraman.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

The Mossad did. They're currently looking for a new place to create a new 9/11 which will allow the tyrants in the U.S. government to convince the shit-for-fucking-brains moron voters in America that we need to invade Iran......and pay for it with our hard earned U.S. income tax dollars.

[–]Greenman851 5 points6 points ago

Comedy is hard

[–]andified -2 points-1 points ago

Umm.... What the fuck are those footprint looking things???

[–]IAMSpirituality[S] 1 point2 points ago

There's a space time continuum glitch right there.

[–]I_read_a_lot 2 points3 points ago

My guess is that they are the holes of the scoops the rover did when digging.

[–]kendalltristan 1 point2 points ago

Those are scoop marks from where Curiosity has been testing the scoop on the arm.

[–]jwoodsutk -2 points-1 points ago

Marvin

[–]Bobbycoxtat -1 points0 points ago

Do you ever read anything you post? Or just mindlessly throw a pic up real quick.

[–]ger_guy -2 points-1 points ago

ha, its a bluff, they are not really on mars

[–]santman29 -2 points-1 points ago

He asked someone to take the picture

[–]Aridcohen -2 points-1 points ago

aliens

[–]andified -1 points0 points ago

Umm.... What the fuck are those footprint looking things???

[–]mkshft4 1 point2 points ago

Assuming you're referring to the darker areas on the left side of the picture...those are the spots where the rover took soil samples.

[–]Lampjaw 0 points1 point ago

Scoop marks.

[–]ArkAngelz 1 point2 points ago

The 10th Doctor.

[–]Foxxxy24 -1 points0 points ago

the martians i'm guessing

[–]skidooshy -1 points0 points ago

There are no footprints so doubt it.

[–]classic__schmosby 3 points4 points ago

They don't have feet; they have wheels.

[–]skidooshy 0 points1 point ago

martians dont need either of them, they float.

[–]AngryTrollface -5 points-4 points ago

[–]IAMSpirituality[S] 6 points7 points ago

I guess that answer would officially be correct from Mars' standpoint. I wonder if Curiosity is beginning to hate the paparazzi.

[–]surly_redditor -5 points-4 points ago

Great. Now right wing nut jobs can point to this as evidence the landing was faked and NASA is just a liberal conspiracy to waste money better spent on tax breaks for the rich.

[–]Defcon458 -1 points0 points ago

Not right wing and not a nut-job...but what I am is skeptical of how this photo could be taken. Got an explanation for us?

[–]Misoura -1 points0 points ago

"The 1-ton Curiosity rover took 55 hi-res pictures with its Mars Hand Lens Imager camera, or MAHLI, on Oct. 31. Mission scientists then stitched the images together to create a full-color mosaic of Curiosity and its Gale Crater landing site." http://news.yahoo.com/curiosity-rover-snaps-stunning-self-portrait-red-planet-173309294.html

[–]surly_redditor 1 point2 points ago

I was curious too and then I tried this thing called "reading". Worked out well for me

[–]heyyo173 -3 points-2 points ago

someone who works at nasa, you know the mars rover is just in a desert in like arizona or something

[–]WasterDave -1 points0 points ago

They just moved the camera and re-rendered.

What, you actually think there's a radio controlled car on mars? Why the fuck would you do that?