A few weeks ago, NASA's robotic explorers on Mars were given some time to rest while the agency waited out Mars' conjunction with the Sun, a natural phenomenon that could interfere with their communications.
Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover stood still, but its hazard avoidance cameras (Hazcams) continued to operate.. For the first time, the Curiosity rover recorded the passage of a Martian day in 12 hours from its stationary position, recording its own moving shadow on the landscape. The images were stored until the connection ended on November 25th.
According to NASA, Curiosity received instructions to record 12-hour sequences several days before the connection began in mid-November.. The idea was to see if it could pick up any weather patterns that might occur. That ultimately didn't happen, but the images Curiosity captured on November 8th were still interesting.. These have been combined into two videos showing the view from the front and rear Hazcam cameras.
Curiosity Hazcams are typically used to help the operator avoid terrain that could be dangerous for the rover.