Has Curiosity been having a kickaround on Mars? Rover reveals round rock on the red planet's surface
comments
Nasa's Curiosity rover has spotted a unique round rock on the red planet.
The perfectly spherical formation was found close to another rock resembling a traffic light.
However, Nasa claims that rather than evidence of Martian sporting achievement, the 1cm sphere actually shows off a unique weather effect on Mars.
Scroll down for video
Anyone fancy a kickaround? An almost perfectly round rock on the Martian surface (shown). Nasa said it was likely an example of Martian concretion, the process of compacting and hardening a mass of matter
The discovery follows another intriguing image that showed an almost perfectly round rock on the Martian surface (shown). Nasa said it was likely an example of Martian concretion, the process of compacting and hardening a mass of matter
According to MSL scientists based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., the ball isn't as big as it looks and isapproximately one centimeter wide.
Nasa said it was probably an example of Martian concretion, the process of compacting and hardening a mass of matter, according to Discovery News.
Other examples of concretions have been found on the Martian surface before.
For example, the tiny haematite concretions, or 'blueberries', observed by Mars rover Opportunity in 2004.
The 'ball' is the latest in a long line of mystery spots on Mars.
Last week a 'traffic light' was spotted.
In the image, a set of three large rocks - admittedly with a larger fourth one as well - are stacked on top of each other.
They bear a striking resemblance to traffic lights on Earth.
But it's highly unlikely this same feature was built by a martian civilisation.
The discovery of Martian clusters, known as 'blueberries', a decade ago provided some of the first evidence of liquid water on the red planet. This incredible close up, taken by the Mars Rover Opportunity, reveals these spheres embedded in Martian rock like blueberries in a muffin.
The image was shot from the six-foot (1.8 metre) high, left-hand side mast cam on the Curiosity Rover.
It was the 753rd day the rover has been exploring the red planet.
The rock was spotted in the image by space video journalist Joe White from Bristol who runs a YouTube channel called ArtAlienTV.
'I saw this one and I thought 'hang on, that looks a bit strange'. I think it looks like a traffic light.
'It is hard to tell how big it would be without any point of reference, but I would estimate it was about 12 inches [30.5cm].
'I posted it on the internet and people said they thought it looked like a set of traffic lights too - although some people did say it looked like a totem pole.'
Curiosity is currently at the base of Mount Sharp, which has been the target for the mission since it landed just over two years ago.
The Curiosity rover has spotted a rock that looks like traffic lights on Mars (shown in the red ring in this image). Washington-based Nasa is yet to comment on the latest discovery. The finding highlights just how weird and wonderful some of the rock formations on Mars can be
The 'traffic lights' (left) were spotted by Curiosity (right) on its way to the base of Mount Sharp, a geologically fascinating region that could explain how Mars lost its wet and habitable environment. Other people have said the strange looking rock resembles a totem pole
The area is geologically fascinating as it contains layers that may provide an insight into the history of Mars.
And, scientists hope the region might reveal how and why Mars lost what was once thought to be a habitable environment, with water flowing on its surface.
This, in turn, may provide answers on the future of Earth.
Yesterday India's first mission to Mars, the ISRO's Mars Orbiter, arrived at Mars and released its first image (shown) of the red planet's surface. 'Howdy @MarsCuriosity? Keep in touch. I'll be around' the team for the orbiter tweeted on its arrival
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment