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Parsons · (This post was last modified: 01-30-2014, 06:58 PM by Parsons.)

This isn't earth shattering news or anything, but I certainly find it intriguing:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140129.html APOD Wrote:What if a rock that looked like a jelly donut suddenly appeared on Mars? That's just what happened in front of the robotic Opportunity rover currently exploring the red planet. The unexpectedly placed rock, pictured above, was imaged recently by Opportunity after not appearing in other images taken as recently as twelve Martian days (sols) before. Given the intriguing mystery, the leading explanation is somewhat tame -- the rock was recently scattered by one of the rover's tires. Even so, the rock's unusual light tones surrounding a red interior created interest in its composition -- as well as causing it to be nicknamed Jelly Donut. A subsequent chemical analysis showed the rock has twice the abundance of manganese than any other rock yet examined -- an unexpected clue that doesn't yet fit into humanity's understanding of the Martian geologic history. Opportunity, just passing its 10-year anniversary on Mars, continues to explore the Murray Ridge section of the rim of 22-kilometer wide Endeavor Crater.

AnthroHeart · 01-30-2014, 07:04 PM

Funny, I thought this said old rock, so I was thinking 60's rock music.

zenmaster · 02-02-2014, 02:09 AM

http://phys.org/news/2014-01-ideas-jelly...-mars.html

Rock apparently was kicked up by a rover wheel...It happens.

Parsons · 02-02-2014, 02:51 AM

(02-02-2014, 02:09 AM)zenmaster Wrote: http://phys.org/news/2014-01-ideas-jelly...-mars.html

Rock apparently was kicked up by a rover wheel...It happens.

It does most likely seem to be the case. I'm still curious about the composition of the rock.

Namaste · 02-03-2014, 08:31 PM

Was it not measured to have more magnesium than any other rock sampled to date?

Spaced · (This post was last modified: 02-03-2014, 08:42 PM by Spaced.)

That doesn't necessarily mean anything other than the fact that it contains more magnesium than the other rocks sampled to date Smile

Namaste · (This post was last modified: 02-03-2014, 09:34 PM by Namaste.)

I was jesting with the image :¬)

If I recall correctly, it was over double the amount, quite an anomaly.

Edit - found it...

Quote:It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” he said. “It’s very high in sulphur, it’s very high in magnesium, it’s got twice as much manganese as we’ve ever seen in anything on Mars.

The above statement is from NASA.

zenmaster · 02-03-2014, 09:58 PM

Swamp gas?

Namaste · 02-04-2014, 06:10 AM

(02-03-2014, 09:58 PM)zenmaster Wrote: Swamp gas?

It was a joke - either that or this:

[Image: 1947f.jpg]

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