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Unusual Looking Martian Rock
NONE | 1-9-04 | Orion78

Posted on 01/08/2004 10:04:57 PM PST by Orion78


The original image from NASA is HERE


Location of Rock in Question


Close Up


TOPICS: Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: mars; martianrock; mera; rock; spirit; sushi
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To: FireTrack
damn if that doesn't look like Pres Nixon.
241 posted on 01/15/2004 2:58:43 PM PST by jetson
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To: Orion78
I pingeth, therefore I am
242 posted on 01/15/2004 3:24:36 PM PST by ALASKA (Bush 2004, Rice 2008/2012)
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To: Orion78
Correction:

Second caption is supposed to read: "Rectangle Hole Rock" seems to be a darker color and different texture than the large rock nearby.

243 posted on 01/15/2004 3:28:52 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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To: Orion78
Keep me on the ping list -

- just seeing post #224 with the Heineken bottle cap in the red 'Martian' soil was worth it!

244 posted on 01/15/2004 5:17:49 PM PST by _Jim ( <--- Ann Coulter speaks on gutless Liberals (RealAudio files))
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To: Orion78
Keep me on this ping list as well.
245 posted on 01/15/2004 5:35:40 PM PST by CurlyBill (Voter fraud is one of the primary campaign strategies of the Democrats!!!!)
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To: Orion78
Ping me, please.
246 posted on 01/15/2004 5:42:01 PM PST by brityank (The more I learn about the Constitution, the more I realise this Government is UNconstitutional.)
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To: Orion78
It's too dark !
Btw, where's the color images ?
247 posted on 01/15/2004 6:44:02 PM PST by Orlando
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To: Orion78
Wow! Excellent pic! Looks like more rocks showing freeze and thaw possiblities. DID you happen to look at this picture from the front of the lander after they drove off? Here it is: Here's the original link as well to the Nasa page: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/jan-15-2004/captions/image-4.html
248 posted on 01/15/2004 8:48:56 PM PST by AppauledAtAppeasementConservat (An educated fool, in the end, is still a fool.)
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To: AppauledAtAppeasementConservat
Got the image html messed up so here's another go at it!

249 posted on 01/15/2004 8:53:28 PM PST by AppauledAtAppeasementConservat (An educated fool, in the end, is still a fool.)
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To: Orlando
NASA is posting most of the pictures from Spirit in "raw" form. I believe this means the color information has not been added. The only color images I have found so far are the press release panorama images.
250 posted on 01/15/2004 9:18:17 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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To: All
Anybody notice the two sky anomolies in the rover camera picture above? I know there have been some alien comments on this thread but it has been joking around or worse crazy paranoia but I looked at the original tiff and those anomolies are in there as well.

Any clues to what they may be? Orbiters or phobos and demos?
251 posted on 01/15/2004 9:20:48 PM PST by AppauledAtAppeasementConservat (An educated fool, in the end, is still a fool.)
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To: Orion78
It is very symetrical. I just got goose bumps, did someone walk on my grave?;o)
252 posted on 01/15/2004 9:25:04 PM PST by MissAmericanPie
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To: AppauledAtAppeasementConservat
Yes, I saw that image. It is very similar to the ones we have seen thus far and so I chose not to add it to the update.

From everything I read, "Sleepy Hollow" is going to be a target for the Spirit rover. If this is the case, then the rover should go right past "Rectangle Hole Rock". I don't want to get my hopes up, but the big rock next to "Rectangle Hole Rock" looks like a good target for the "RAT" or Rock Abrasion Tool. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway...


253 posted on 01/15/2004 9:33:39 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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To: AppauledAtAppeasementConservat
I have noticed a few sky anomalies in other pictures as well. I am not sure what they are but I think that the pictures are transmitted digitally so it could be possible that it is just "digital noise".

I doubt they are the any of the orbiters. The cameras on the orbiters are way more powerful than the ones on Spirit, and even if NASA pointed an orbiter camera right at the Spirit landing site and took a picture, you would not be able to see Spirit.

It is possible that it is one or both of the moons. But I am not sure whether or not they are visible from the surface. The moons are very small and are more like asteroids in orbit than actual moons.

254 posted on 01/15/2004 9:46:06 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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To: Orion78
Well I should certainly hope they look at this rock with more detail in some fasion because our curiosity will forever haunt us about it if they don't!

I'm about as excited as spongebob square pants watching every briefing chanting "I'm ready! I'm Ready!" LOL!
255 posted on 01/15/2004 9:48:06 PM PST by AppauledAtAppeasementConservat (An educated fool, in the end, is still a fool.)
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To: MissAmericanPie
Either that or it is really cold where you are. I'm freezing my butt off here in PA and we don't even have it near as bad as the folks further north. Some places in Maine saw temperatures of 40 below yesterday with windchills of -100! Thats about how cold it is at noon on Mars.
256 posted on 01/15/2004 9:52:24 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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To: Orion78
Could easily be dust contamination on the lenses as well from the transverse. Good points on the orbiters also.

Interesting pictures and I am hanging on each pixel for new details to catch my eyes.
257 posted on 01/15/2004 9:54:02 PM PST by AppauledAtAppeasementConservat (An educated fool, in the end, is still a fool.)
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To: AppauledAtAppeasementConservat
Yes I hope they do too. I would pull my hair out if they turn the rover the other way and we never see "Rectangle Hole Rock" again.

I know what you mean about being so excited. Things are really starting to pick up and it is only 8 days until Opportunity is scheduled to land!

I just read via Yahoo News that 2 rocks are selected as targets for Spirit before it visits "Sleepy Hollow". They have given the two target rocks names: "Adirondack" and "Sashimi".

I am currently trying to figure out if NASA has released anything showing rocks and the names they have given them. I want to know which rocks are "Adirondack" and "Sashimi". I am hoping the big rock next to "Rectangle Hole Rock" is one of them. If I find out, I will do an update.
258 posted on 01/15/2004 10:00:33 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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To: Orion78; AppauledAtAppeasementConservat
Assuming it is a hole, and not just a shadow, I thought I would toss it out there in hopes a geologist freeper could lend some insight to what kind of natural processes could form such a evenly shaped hole.

I'm not a geologist but I've spent 45 years studying rocks and minerals and know a little about them. Here's one way a square hole could be formed in a rock (and it's basically the same one AppauledAtAppeasementConservat suggested).

A number of minerals crystallize in the cubic (isometric) system and some of them form nearly perfect cubes. One of these is iron pyrite (iron sulphide) -- a likely candidate for this situation because it can be easily dislodged from its host rock matrix or chemically degraded. I've found square holes in rocks where pyrite crystals were formerly located. But there are other cubic minerals that could do the same thing.

If it's a hole left by a crystal the host rock is igneous or metamorphic material brought to Mars' surface by the meteorite impact that made the crater. It's certainly an interesting object and I hope the rover takes a hard look at it and science comes up with an answer. The fuzzy-looking stuff on the top of the larger rock to the left needs some examination too. I've seen rock formtions like that and they generally indicate some sort of hydrothermal action like geysers -- if I'm right it could be a real indication of Martian water, past or present.

259 posted on 01/15/2004 10:03:04 PM PST by Bernard Marx ("Life is tough, and it's really tough when you're stupid." Damon Runyan.)
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To: Joe Hadenuf
From a NASA Press Release dated January 13, 2004
(full text here)

The spacecraft came to rest only about 250 to 300 meters (270 to 330 yards) southeast of its first impact. Transverse rockets successful slowed horizontal motion seconds before impact, said JPL's Rob Manning, who headed development of the entry, descent and landing system. The spacecraft, encased in airbags, was just 8.5 meters (27.9 feet) off the ground when its bridle was cut for the final freefall to the surface. It first bounced about 8.4 meters (27.6 feet) high, then bounced 27 more times before stopping.

260 posted on 01/15/2004 10:10:31 PM PST by Orion78 (Only a slave can work with no right to the product of his effort.)
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