Posted on 12/19/2015 4:50:10 PM PST by BenLurkin
In a finding that suggests "considerable water activity" on Mars, NASA says its Curiosity rover has found very high concentrations of silica on the red planet. The agency says it also found "a mineral named tridymite, rare on Earth and never seen before on Mars."
The discoveries took place on Mount Sharp, where Curiosity drilled into a rock called "Buckskin" to find the tridymite, and where it used its "ChemCam" laser to measure high silica levels. The odd findings led researchers to take the rare step of ordering Curiosity to retrace its path to learn more.
Explanations for the high silica levels "all require considerable water activity," says Jens Frydenvang of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Copenhagen. He adds, "and on Earth high silica deposits are often associated with environments that provide excellent support for microbial life."
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Marvin the Martian ping.
Maybe Mars got nuked.
Cool-looking mineral
Tridymite is a high-temperature polymorph of silica and usually occurs as minute tabular white or colorless pseudo-hexagonal crystals, or scales, in cavities in felsic volcanic rocks. Its chemical formula is SiO2. Tridymite was first described in 1868 and the type location is in Hidalgo, Mexico. The name is from the Greek tridymos for triplet as tridymite commonly occurs as twinned crystal trillings
I found 535 piles of poop in congress
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"Silica is a highly versatile mineral and has found use in a myriad of applications. A silica-based aerogel was utilized in the Stardust spacecraft to gather extraterrestrial particles. Silica facilitates powder flow in the production of pharmaceutical products, such as tablets. It may be utilized for extracting DNA and RNA and is utilized in toothpaste as a hard abrasive tooth plaque removal. Its natural absorbency and light-diffusing properties make it useful in cosmetic applications. Colloidal silica is used as a wine- and juice-fining agent in the food and beverage industries. As a refractory material, silica is used as a high-temperature thermal protection fabric."
Trintite?
Could be worse, look what happened to the next one out...
Sand on Mars? Who knew?
When in doubt, #SiO2
I would refer you to Dr. John Bradenburg’s work. this link is one of many regarding the stories of his theory. I have his original presentation somewhere in my computer. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2843871/Ancient-Martian-civilisation-wiped-nuclear-bomb-wielding-aliens-attack-Earth-claims-physicist.html
Some of the Utopians obviously escaped and made it to Earth. They now call themselves Progessives.
Makes me thirsty for an icy cold bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla.
Damn it, Jim. I’m a doctor, not a brick layer.
Looks like the Mojave Desert near Baker, CA.
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