Posted on 10/04/2012 3:41:05 PM PDT by grundle
Someone alert Ziggy Stardust, there appear to be spiders on Mars.
Strange black objects seen from 200 miles above the surface of Mars are generating interest and speculation that the unidentified objects could be anything from geysers to sunbathing colonies of microorganisms.
NPR presents several photos of the objects, including one taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 27, 2010, that appears to show "little black flecks dotting the ridges, mostly on the sunny side, like sunbathing spiders sitting in rows."
The objects were first spotted in 1998. Interestingly, they appear when the surface of Mars begins to warm, showing up in the same location most of the time. And then when the Martian winter approaches, they disappear with the same precise regularity. The images have been brought into greater detail by Michael Benson in his book "Planetfall: New Solar System Visions."
Most scientists, including teams from the U.S. Geological Survey, Hungary and the European Space Agency, have their own theories, but the leading explanation is that the objects are geysers of CO2 exploding from underneath the planet's surface.
"If you were there, you'd be standing on a slab of carbon dioxide ice," Phil Christensen of Arizona State University told NPR. "All around you, roaring jets of carbon dioxide gas are throwing sand and dust a couple hundred feet into the air. The ground below would be rumbling. You'd feel it in your space boots."
And while the geyser theory is the most popular explanation, it has yet to be verified.
In the meantime, there are some interesting alternative theories, including one from a group of Hungarian scientists, who have speculated that the objects are actually colonies of photosynthetic Martian microorganisms that emerge each year to sunbathe in the warm weather.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Didn’t anybody see Aliens??? Do not investigate!
Keep looking at those photos folks, one of these days
some lucky human is going to spot a fossil.
When you enlarge the picture, it looks like their are hairs on them at certain points, kind of like the hair that is on a caterpillar. Don’t know if it’s a flaw in the camera shot, or if it could be patterns left on the sand from the wind blowing across the shell-like objects.
I think you have a leak in your stillsuit
If those are dunes, whats underneath them?
Bflr
They are called BARCHANS. The following picture is from a desert here on Earth. They are very common.
Thanks momgtothree and GeronL.
Thanks momgtothree and GeronL.
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Spice!!!!
Sea shells?
Owl?
Its a vulture!
One of the exoskeletons from a dead ALIEN that Riply waxed.
Looks like a hawk scanning for prey.
Thanks - what a COOL photo!!
You should call him Maowl :)
Just as long as it isn’t a spotted owl!
Likely a kingfisher resting up from fishing in the lake in the left panels. ;-)
Its either that o some punk in a hoodie heading the other way.
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