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 ...
[Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA]
Didn't we see this laast week?
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Just ‘bumps in the road’.
ahahah
now we know where ‘he’ was born...
Do you mean that isn’t a closeup of a martian’s testicle?
Something was bubbling up at one time.
“Something was bubbling up at one time.”
It certainly looks like it, doesn’t it? I’m at a complete loss as as to just how it could freeze like that. “Mud volcano” but how to preserve some sort of a boil???
They can use the images in the upcoming blockbuster
“E.Three, the Extra-testicle”.
NO
KILL
I
More likely some crystal formation during a wet period but I’ve never seen anything quite like that.
No telling, but a fascinating look at geological processes.
Reminds me of pancakes LOL
Well...it is out of this world.
Petrified bubbles formed by a thick substance.
Looks just like asphalt on a hot day.
I prefer pancakes.
Remember when you used to pop the bubbles on those old dirt and oil roads with your bare feet on a hot summer day?
Looks like Martian deer droppings. I wonder how big the deer are and what they taste like.
CO2 bubbles bubbling up into mud??
Now that you bring it up . . . .
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