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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Unusual Spheres on Mars
NASA ^
| September 25, 2012
| (see photo credit)
Posted on 09/24/2012 9:14:37 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Why are these strange little spheres on Mars? The robotic rover Opportunity chanced across these unusually shaped beads earlier this month while exploring a place named Kirkwood near the rim of Mars' Endeavor Crater. The above image taken by Opportunity's Microscopic Imager shows that some ground near the rover is filled with these unusual spheres, each spanning only about 3 millimeters. At first glance, the sometimes-fractured balls appear similar to the small rocks dubbed blueberries seen by Opportunity eight years ago, but these spheres are densely compacted and have little iron content. Although it is thought that these orbs formed naturally, which natural processes formed them remain unknown. Opportunity, an older sibling to the recently deployed Curiosity rover, will continue to study these spheres with the hope that they will provide a new clue to the ancient history of the surface of the red planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; mars; science
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Comment #21 Removed by Moderator
To: SunkenCiv
Ooops. I must have dropped some peanuts the last time I was there.
22
posted on
09/24/2012 10:06:15 PM PDT
by
smokingfrog
( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
To: mylife
No, but I remember how they sounded popping under a bicycle tire!
23
posted on
09/24/2012 10:12:30 PM PDT
by
CrazyIvan
(Obama's birth certificate was found stapled to Soros's receipt.)
To: CrazyIvan
24
posted on
09/24/2012 10:13:19 PM PDT
by
mylife
(The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
To: SunkenCiv
25
posted on
09/24/2012 10:16:36 PM PDT
by
beethovenfan
(If Islam is the solution, the "problem" must be freedom.)
To: SunkenCiv
26
posted on
09/24/2012 11:08:41 PM PDT
by
onyx
(FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
To: SunkenCiv
There are deep sea floors on Earth where manganese has precipitated out into spherules, just like these.
It is possible that sometime in Mars past this was a sea floor on which something similiar occurred.
Just a speculation on my part, you all understand?
27
posted on
09/25/2012 12:27:47 AM PDT
by
SatinDoll
(NATURAL BORN CITZEN: BORN IN THE USA OF CITIZEN PARENTS.)
To: F15Eagle
Weep for the lost children...
28
posted on
09/25/2012 3:44:06 AM PDT
by
FroggyTheGremlim
('Nancy Pelosi is a DINGBAT.' - Gov. Sarah Palin)
Comment #29 Removed by Moderator
To: SunkenCiv
30
posted on
09/25/2012 5:11:54 AM PDT
by
left that other site
(Worry is the Darkroom that Develops Negatives.)
To: SunkenCiv
They all look like... Charlie Brown.
MORE FACES ON MARS!
31
posted on
09/25/2012 6:13:10 AM PDT
by
Blogatron
(Fire President Gilligan!!!)
To: left that other site
Martian Eggs. Close. more specifically, "weather balloon" larvae...
32
posted on
09/25/2012 7:10:00 AM PDT
by
BlueDragon
(going to change my name to "Nobody" then run for elective office)
To: BlueDragon
33
posted on
09/25/2012 8:27:12 AM PDT
by
left that other site
(Worry is the Darkroom that Develops Negatives.)
To: SunkenCiv
Millions of dollars and we get grey scale photos?
34
posted on
09/25/2012 8:30:41 AM PDT
by
central_va
( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
To: SunkenCiv
Looks like what the rabbits leave on my lawn.
35
posted on
09/25/2012 10:26:38 AM PDT
by
Vermont Lt
(I am NOT from Vermont. I am from MA. And I don't support Romney. Please read before "assuming.")
To: SunkenCiv
Looks like silidified molten rock that cooled falling through the atmosphere after, say, a meteor impact forming a crater of some sort.
36
posted on
09/25/2012 11:14:28 AM PDT
by
sonofagun
(Some think my cynicism grows with age. I like to think of it as wisdom!)
To: central_va
Millions of dollars and we get grey scale photos?This is the old rover, Opportunity. Too bad Curiosity didn't find it - maybe its zapper/sniffer gear could have figured out what this is.
To: central_va
Millions of dollars and we get grey scale photos?This is the old rover, Opportunity. Too bad Curiosity didn't find it - maybe its zapper/sniffer gear could have figured out what this is.
To: F15Eagle
Nothing more scary than a gigantic hairy fried egg that oozes acid and zooms through rock like we move through air.
There once was a restaurant on Mars. It closed however, said it had no "atmosphere" ;~).
39
posted on
09/25/2012 1:03:06 PM PDT
by
freebird5850
(Guilty but not prosecuted? Sounds like a liberal to me.)
Comment #40 Removed by Moderator
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