MARS OUTCROP SOURCE OF TINY SPHERES

JPL ^ | sol 13, opportunity, mars | JPL

[doodad]

Thanks. Here is as close to spherical as it occurs on Earth by a concretionary process.

[doodad]

argh what did I do wrong?

[LibWhacker]

Hey, that's interesting . . . Not all the same size. Not all perfectly spherical, either. Textured like a tennis ball. Was that taken with the "microscope?"

[Phil V.]

(Someone teach me how to link to a web image, I know how on a hosted server).

Here's the HTML code for linking to an image . . .

<a href="http://www.directcon.net/pharmer/fr/outhouse.jpg">link to Martian Head quarters</a>

link to Martian Head quarters

[Bernard Marx]

They were spessartine as near as I could tell and they had been rolled as they eroded creating transparent near spherical gems. Very nice quality garnets.

Sorry...guess I didn't read closely. I'm EXTREMELY fond of spessartines. I'd like to compare notes about the location sometime. It's interesting but sometimes garnets and other cubic crystals appear as spheres even when not water worn. Some grandites from Mali form in clumps and break out virtually round. So are certain diamond crystals called "ballas" or "shot boart." These latter are technically an intermediate form of carbon between true diamond and carbonado.

[Erik Latranyi]

Is it me or does the entire area look to be covered in small, white 'dots'??????

Image taken from panoramic camera.

[Erik Latranyi]

Was that taken with the "microscope?"

Yes it was the microscope.

[LibWhacker]

Yes! I posted that picture the other day with the same question. Very strange. They look like miniature spheroids themselves.

[LibWhacker]

Hmmm . . . I'm not sure. When I went to the url I only a Google search page came up. So, naturally an image wouldn't appear. Try again . . . This time make doubly sure it's the url of the image only and not the url of the page in which it's embedded.

[Erik Latranyi]

Are we all missing something?

First, NASA does not say anything about this and has Opportunity moving on to other areas of study.

Second, we keep thinking these are rocks----how about ice crystals???? When we get a a change from rain to snow or vice-versa, there is a period where ice spheres (almost like hail) come down.

Could Mars have rain?????????

[doodad]

AH-HA, thanks all!

this

[Bernard Marx]

Wow! Those images put this whole thing in a brand new light IMO. I anxiously await a pronouncement from those high pay grade JPL geologists.

[doodad]

TADA! Geez, I'm easily amused

[VRWC_minion]

Why are the evenly dispersed ? Shouldn't they have rolled to the lowest point or been blown into crevices ?

[thoughtomator]

Ah, I knew I was on the right track. Preparations were already made, all I needed to do was turn on the antigrav unit and the depressurizer. Now ALL the Mars pix are in color! With sound too!

[quantim]

Are you sirius? That only happens on the dogstar.

Didn't you mean Series?  Are you talking Series A or Series B?  LOL.

 

[LibWhacker]

Here's how to get that oolitic limestone picture to appear as a pic here:

<img src="http://www.m.godden.btinternet.co.uk/oolite.jpg">

Now doing it for real:
Cheers! :-)

[Indie]

a Horta was a silicon based life form that ate tunnels through stone and had sphere shaped green eggs.

NOW we know why NASA is not releasing these in color.

[LibWhacker]

Yes! Way to go! I wish I could learn geology as easily! :-)

[doodad]

If you go I need some more. My wife lost the earrings in the trash and despite dumpster diving, they are gone. She cried for days. It was in the Dillon, MT area where I went to field camp.