Strongest evidence yet of "WET MARS" . . . input please!

NASA - JPL ^ | 02-22-2004 | NASA/JPL

[Phil V.]

Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 28 of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum at approximately at approximately 12:26:38 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be OPEN. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

VIEW FULL IMAGE

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"stereo" strip . . .

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Just below center and just to the left of center notice what appears to be a fractured "spherule". Notice the dark center. This is STRONGLY suggestive of growth by accretion - an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition . . . a process FREQUENTLY associated with a water environment. This is MY interpretation. But the picture is NASA/JPL . . . it is worth a thousand words. Feel free to contribute.

[Phil V.]

Thanks. Here are some stereos I made from "El Capitan" . . .

The upper 1/3 portion of this picture is the area from which today's microscopic pictures were taken . . .

[Aracelis]

To what scale does the "rhomboid" shape ov calcite hold beyond crystaline? Will calcite base rocks fracture in a way so as to preserve the "rhomboid " shape?

Calcite will cleave according to it's rhombohedral shape. Of course weathering and abrasion can "round" or otherwise obscure the crystal form, but on a fresh face, calcite (and other such minerals) will cleave to their original form. Note the following:

The smaller piece that has broken away from the main crystal still retains the rhombohedral shape.

In this aggregate, if we looked at the individual crystal, we would see the unmistakable calcite rhombs.

[Searching4Justice]

The sun is what warms Mars and as one knows the difference in temperature between say Miami and Syracuse is its distance from the sun (Equator)....If its 100 million miles away from us I "spose" it's kinda chilly there and always has been....I think there is a different reality that exists at those temperatures and since its unknown to us we can't comprehend it.

[Phil V.]

. . . so the rhombohedral shape of the large "slab" in the bottom picture in #61 might be indicative of calcite?

[Gone_Postal]

Frankly I don't care about water on Mars
I'm waiting for the oil, than I can work on the pipe line ............

[Aracelis]

It's not outside the realm of possibility...BUT I would strongly urge caution with such an interpretation. Calcite is a very soft mineral. I doubt that it an exposed calcite rhomb would survive intact through Martian sandstorms. We will just have to wait for more data.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Mars also has lower gravity which may explain the many spherical shapes. With less gravitational stress on the elements, they may erode differently. It is obvious that wind erosion is the most likely force shaping the planet.

The canyons and crater sides that look water eroded, were in theory, caused when an impact event broke the surface crust integrity that had some form of liquid beneath the surface , then the erosion occurred when the liquid ran to the lowest point of the crater.

That same impact would have dispersed large amounts of droplet/ spherical material in all directions and under the low gravity they may have retained their shape after settling to the planets surface.

[Phil V.]

Is it possible that this sphere was formed through accretion of some substance in the presence of liquid CO2?

fso301, I don't know. Ask Piltdown Woman. . . one of our resident geologists.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Dallas59]

[Searching4Justice]

Those channels could have been created if an object hit the planet which created a tremendous amount of heat that it would have melted whatever ice there was and seeking its lowest level that water could have run until it froze again. Any objects present could have been either on the planet or with the object that collided with Mars.

[zeugma]

I hesitated to put my self on yet another ping list, but what the heck! Add me please!

[realpatriot71]

Mars ping

[Aracelis]

Here's an interesting paper on this subject:

White Mars

[nightdriver]

"If everything we know about Mars is accurate it is almost impossible for water to exist in liquid form on Mars."

Exactly.

With an atmospheric pressure of from 4 to 8 millibars (it is said to vary between those values), water boils at less than 40 degF.

It would be nearly impossible for water to exist as anything but a vapor there, and we're told that the water content of the Martian atmosphere has been measured at something like 210 ppm. Pretty dry!

[Joe Hadenuf]

Index

[Joe Hadenuf]

Seems to me the "strongest evidence of a wet Mars" would be actual water, in any form. Has anyone found any or are we still fascinated by the "it used to be here" argument? the search for water, while important, seems to have become the central point of the whole excercise.

It's not just the water, it's what is generally associated with the presence of water, and that would be life, in one form or another. And that is a very big deal.

[Phil V.]

"White Mars" . . . thanks . . . great read!

[ElkGroveDan]

Its a fossilized egg and the dark center is the yolk.

[ElkGroveDan]

It would be nearly impossible for water to exist as anything but a vapor there, and we're told that the water content of the Martian atmosphere has been measured at something like 210 ppm. Pretty dry!

Agreed. Its the same reason why I don't believe the accounts of the American Revolutionary War. The idea of people in this country fighting a battle with muskets and riding horses everywhere is absurd. If there was such a battle they would have used automatic weapons and driven around in jeeps and off road vehicles. Things have always been the same as they are now and have never changed. The same must be true on Mars. Water can't exist there now, so it never could have.