Asteroid Mappers: Tutorials

The Vesta Mappers interface and task really is what it sounds like: We simply have you map the surface of Vesta.

Different Parts of the Interface

The above image is what you will be presented with during the main tasks for Vesta Mappers. The numbers below refer to the numbers in the image.

1. Examples of what craters look like. These are what we want you to mark!

2. This is an image taken of the surface of Vesta. It is what we want you to map out for us.

3. The main toolbar that lets you mark the image. See below for more information.

4. Tool tips show you exactly what you selected in (3) does. In the screen capture above, the Mark Craters tool has been selected and the Tool Tip gives you detailed information on how to use it.

The Toolbar

The image is the most important part of the interface, but you can't do anything with it unless you have tools. That's what the main toolbar's purpose is.

1. This allows you to select and to then modify any feature that you have created. You can move features, re-size them, or select them for deletion (2).

2. "Delete Marking" does what it sounds like -- if you have this tool selected, move your mouse over the feature you have marked, click, and you will erase it.

3. This is probably the tool you'll use the most because it lets you mark craters. When this screen grab was taken, that was the tool that was selected, indicated by the light background. To use the Mark Craters tool, select it, and then draw on the image. Start at the center of a crater you want to mark, hold the mouse button down, and drag until you reach the edge of the crater. If the crater is smaller than our minimum size, the crater you draw will remain red and will disappear when you release the mouse button. If it's big enough to be counted, it will turn green.

4. Mark Feature lets you put down a flag on the image in the location of a feature that you think is particularly interesting (see below, "Features to Mark").

5. Mark Boulders allows you to mark large rocks or boulders on the surface. See the image below for an example, pointed out with a yellow arrow. You can tell a boulder from a crater by the orientation of the shadows as they are reversed from those of the craters. (The light/dark are left/right for craters in this image, whereas boulders and other raised surfaces are right/left.)

6. "Turn Markings Off" will make your markings go invisible so you can see the underlying image again. This is useful if you think there may be a feature under something you've already marked. When clicked, this will change to "Turn Markings On" to return to the previous state.

7. These are extra options that we ask you to choose before clicking the "Done Working" button for that image. "Crests or Troughs" can be marked if a linear ridge or hole is seen in the image. "Misshapen" is marked if one or more of the craters marked are significantly non-circular. Check the "Bad Image" box if the image is grainy, black, distorted, or has some other problem with it. That way we can remove it.

8. Once you're done marking everything in the image, click this button to save your work and move on to the next one!

Features to Mark

A guide to all the features you can mark is available here.