Nasa Says Mars Mystery Rock That ‘Appeared’ From Nowhere Is ‘Like Nothing We’ve Seen Before’

[Purveyor]

A mysterious rock which appeared in front of the Opportunity rover is "like nothing we've ever seen before", according to Mars exploration scientists at Nasa.

Experts said they were "completely confused" by both the origins and makeup of the object, which is currently being investigated by Opportunity's various measuring instruments.

Astronomers noticed the new rock had "appeared" without any explanation on an outcrop which had been empty just days earlier. The rover has been stuck photographing the same region of Mars for more than a month due to bad weather, with scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California monitoring the images it sends.

Nasa issued a Mars status report entitled "encountering a surprise", and lead Mars Exploration rover scientist Steve Squyres told a JPL event it seems the planet literally "keeps throwing new things at us".

He said the images, from 12 Martian days apart, were from no more than a couple of weeks ago. "We saw this rock just sitting here. It looks white around the edge in the middle and there’s a low spot in the centre that's dark red - it looks like a jelly doughnut.

"And it appeared, just plain appeared at that spot - and we haven't ever driven over that spot."



MORE...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-says-mars-mystery-rock-that-appeared-from-nowhere-is-like-nothing-weve-ever-seen-before-9070323.html

[Kingofalldems]

1. Aliens.

[baldguy]

5. Doughnuts

Glazed sour cream, from the looks of it.

[A HERETIC I AM]

22. "Ich Bin Ein Martianer! n/t

[arcane1]

32. I see what you did there.

I love mistranslation humor

[A HERETIC I AM]

40. Gave it my best, I did.

[eShirl]

48. bravo

[Cleita]

46. Apparently, Martians are litterbugs too. n/t

[TlalocW]

2. I'm telling you...

Martians are naturally xenophobic and take a long time to even begin overtures in making friendships, relations, etc. The Martians have been watching the rover for years now and have observed it being extremely interested in rocks. They've decided that it's relatively harmless and want to be friends hence the gift of a new rock.

TlalocW

[Tikki]

7. Or maybe the rock is a sentient being and showed up to explore the rover...

Tikki

[Katashi_itto]

20. Footage from Apollo 18 shows there are indeed rock creatures

[northoftheborder]

35. Heh!!!

[Agschmid]

88. This is clearly exactly what happened.

I am on board with this theory.

[RandiFan1290]

3. Obviously

[tridim]

4. I just can't figure out why they don't lower the camera and check it out.

It's right freaking there, what are you waiting for NASA?

[enlightenment]

13. Well, they did get closer to it.

Enough to do a chemical composition, which seems to suggest that it's still a weird little rock.

http://rt.com/news/mars-rock-rover-opportunity-847/

[tridim]

17. Thanks.

[randome]

6. SHIT! IT'S TRUE!

He's been teleporting to Mars all along!


[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[1000words]

8. That looks like something that might have fallen off the rover

It doesn't look organic ... or anything like it's surrounding area.

[Sheldon Cooper]

11. Yes.

[gollygee]

14. Agreed

Most obvious explanation.

[pintobean]

31. Rover droppings.

Exactly what I suspect.

[morningfog]

34. "[W]e haven't ever driven over that spot."

[former9thward]

69. NASA would know that.

They know every part on the Rover and what it looks like.

[NuclearDem]

9. Spirit's just being a troll.

[JaneyVee]

10. Maybe it landed.

[The Straight Story]

12. Looks like a wrapper for a ho ho

Probably just some litter after lunch.

[struggle4progress]

21. Yup: the simplest explantion is just that Bigfoot's a fuggin slob

[librechik]

15. Better pic, but I still say it's just

different lighting conditions on the left, where a pentagon-shaped outline appears near the top of the rock where the "doughnut" appears on the right side.

My second guess is along the lines of those desert rocks that creep across the landscape due to wind pressure.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/death-valleys-moving-rocks/

Otherwise, I'm very SURPRISED that NASA would reveal such an obvious anomaly to the public. This will raise questions they can't answer.

And I'm one of those who would LOVE to find an anomaly! I'm sure it's a wrapper from a martian ice cream cone!

[Jesus Malverde]

90. So much of the space budget has been shifted to the pentagon and private corporations

NASA doesn't get much buzz these days...which they miss

[Glassunion]

16. Typical wind speed on Mars is about 60mph. Gusting to over 100.

So the obvious answer is that Stephen Baldwin kicked it from a dentist chair in a moment of epiphany when the realization of Jello Pudding came to a halt in front of the train to apathy.

[KT2000]

41. +1 !!!! n/t

[former9thward]

70. Atmospheric pressure is about 1% of earth.

Typical wind speed is 20 mph. But that 20 mph could hardly be felt since the atmosphere is so thin. It would not be able to move rocks.

http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/planetary/mars.html

[Glassunion]

72. Even so, my deduction was not based solely on wind speed. You are forgetting the Kraft Axiom

of the Pudding Calculation, then compounded by the Apathy Postulate, which was the basis for my Baldwin Theorem.

In all probability, it could have worked with a simple 2mph wind if given the proper train schedule.

[former9thward]

73. You got me.

[Glassunion]

77. .

[jberryhill]

79. But ice cream has no bones

[pinboy3niner]

80. Now you're just being humerus. nt

[flamingdem]

18. That rocks

Marvin!

[loudsue]

19. Some martian threw some trash out the window.

Just to see if we'd pick up a picture of it, and obsess over it, write about it on the internet, take chemical compositions of it, and maybe even start a war over it or, better yet, privatize it!

[louis-t]

78. I hope the camera at the intersection caught the perp.

I HATE litterers.

[Matariki]

23. Martian pranksters!

It looks like a fast food wrapper!

[L0oniX]

24. I had wondered what ever happened to my pet rock. Rocky ...is that you?

[magical thyme]

25. Dunkin Donuts on Mars!

Cool!

I was hesistant about leaving the homeland planet, but now feel much better about that proposition.

[aikoaiko]

26. Lighting?

[DirkGently]

27. So they dough nut know what it is?

[flamingdem]

30. well done

[pinboy3niner]

74. I think I saw it in that movie--'Natural Born Crullers'

[Atman]

28. Am I seriously the only one who sees this???

The exact shape of the "rock" is already in the red rock in the picture on the left. Same damned shape. Plus, the photo on the right has a much higher level of sharpening and color saturations. Despite what the original poster wants you to believe, these pictures are not at the same angle. Just look at the width of the triangular rock to the left of the suspect rock...totally different proportions.

IOW, it's been f***ed with. It's fake. At the very least, it's an operator error. These are two pictures taken at very different angles and exposures, so they are NOT direct comparisons.

[randome]

29. You're the only one who actually examined both photos, I guess.

While the rest of us were making jokes. Good on you, though!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[DirkGently]

33. It's not a fake. Take it easy on the accusations, maybe?

These are the photos and report NASA has released. It's NASA saying the rock "appeared" and NASA saying it's a mystery. One suggestion they've made is that a damaged piece of the gear knocked the object into view.

It's possible you're right that all we're seeing is a change in the angle of the light that made something in the landscape appear to "pop" in a way it didn't before, but neither the OP nor NASA are manipulating photos or "want us to believe" anything.

[morningfog]

36. I see what you are looking at, but it doesn't look like the same shape to my eye.

[morningfog]

38. Here are the two photos (raw) in black and white:

?w=670&h=440&crop=1

http://science.time.com/2014/01/20/martian-ghost-rock-baffles-nasa/

[TroglodyteScholar]

75. Perhaps something that "bubbled up" from under the surface?

There definitely is a faint impression of the shape in the first picture....

[Logical]

39. LOL, calm down there buddy! Deep breaths! nt

[Atman]

43. LOL, calm down there buddy! It's the interwebs!

Why do assume that I am somehow upset? I am not upset at all!

I was going to open the pics in Photoshop to point out the obvious glaring differences, but figured, wth...there will still be some guy that comes along and says "calm down buddy!" But, hey...deep breaths, right?

Calm down, buddy. I was just pointing out the glaring problems with the photo.

[Logical]

47. LOL, 'fake' and 'fucked with'? nt

[Orrex]

49. Thank god we've got someone smarter than NASA to sort this all out

[Purveyor]

71. We can ALWAYS count on that with this forum, indeed. lol

[arely staircase]

37. that's a pabst blue ribbon can nt

[Orrex]

82. ...

[arely staircase]

87. if the internet were invented only for that

it would have been worth it.

[Orrex]

89. Aw, shucks.

The idea just sort of presented itself.

[kristopher]

42. More photos

This slide show gives a comparison that adjusts to allow for size and angle differences in the before and after shots. Worth clicking through
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/11988343703/in/photostream/


This one shows the robot arm as part of the shot


Close up that was sent around via twitter


Untinted before


Untinted after


All photos from article at rt.com
http://rt.com/news/mars-rover-rock-appear-650/

[Atman]

45. Which photo is actually attributed to NASA?

I see pics from Flckr, rt.com, and lots of third party re-posts of photos.

I'm not just being a douche bag (or is it "only" being a douche bag?) I actually grew up in the space program and have family members working on this mission. I've just never heard of this, and it seems easily explained if you look closely at the photographs and account for lighting, angles and maybe some shenanigans by the click-seeker who post this stuff without direct links to NASA.

But call me a skeptic.

[kristopher]

54. ???

Are you saying that people are doctoring the photos?
If so, why not just post a NASA photo that shows your allegation to be true.
It sounds more like you are more into promoting a point of pride about a tenuous relationship with the space program than you are actually looking at what this might be.

I was originally of the mind it was a tidily wink kicked out by a tire, but given the analysis regarding the composition I'm not sure that's true. I also think there is a reasonable explanation for it, and I doubt if any of the wise cracks being made actually represent a body of belief that this is a sign of aliens or anything like that. Its humor - get over yourself. We really don't need a self appointed police agent on this topic.

[Atman]

57. I missed the *humor* tag on the OP

Lots of people seem to think this is real. I offered reasons to show that it is not. Forgive me.

[kristopher]

59. What an odd statement

It is real.
It's a mystery.
It's a real mystery.
People speculate.
People speculate seriously.
People take the opportunity afforded by the mystery to speculate humorously.
We don't need someone to police the thread and the speculation.

[Atman]

61. Odd to you.

Made perfect sense to me.

Hmm, so then...

[morningfog]

84. Here are (those same) images from NASA:

3528 includes the first pics:
http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_p3528.html



http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/3528/1P441385648EFFCADPP2385L2M1.HTML

3540 the latter:
http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_p3540.html



http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/3540/1P442453196EFFCAEFP2594L2M1.HTML

[hfojvt]

44. it's a baby horta

[randome]

53. Or...

...we now know what happens to tribbles in the absence of oxygen.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[icymist]

66. It was just a matter of time before someone thought of this one!

[hfojvt]

68. I was kinda surprised

that the obvious joke had not been taken already by post #44.

DU apparently has a serious shortage of Trekkers. Especially TOS Trekkers.

[tavernier]

50. Um...

Pretty sure that's a Wolowitz dickie. Looks like Howard's been playing with the Rover again.

[Avalux]

51. They've analyzed the mystery rock - it has a lot of manganese in it.

A lot more than any they've come across on Mars so far. Manganese is an essential trace nutrient in all known forms of life.

Manganese:



Maybe it was placed there on purpose - an alien-made alloy??

[underpants]

52. It's a RON PAUL! sign

They are still out there

[Coyotl]

55. Thanks Obama.

Maybe it is a fungus among us.

[chrisa]

56. Couldn't it be a meteorite?

Maybe a meteorite came crashing down, and NASA didn't notice.

[Warren DeMontague]

58. Gum Wrapper

[ChisolmTrailDem]

92. That was my guess. I always like to have a chew while I'm working. nt

[justiceischeap]

60. Aren't there any larger images of this so we can zoom in on the martian donut? nt

[kristopher]

62. There's one here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024362161#post42

[justiceischeap]

63. Thanks!

I skimmed the headlines of the replies but didn't read each one--just the article.

[Baclava]

64. and they only let us know during their 10 year anniversary party?

they sure know how to tease - I guess they just wanted some attention


The picture was shared by NASA Mars Exploration Rover lead scientist, Steve Squyres, during an event celebrating the ten year anniversary of the agency’s twin rovers

Squyres blames Opportunity for the rock’s sudden appearance, though he does admit he’s just guessing.

Apparently, the Opportunity’s front right steering actuator is out of commission, which could have somehow dislodged the rock and caused it to land in the position you see...

But while the explanation of how the rock got there might be easily guessed, scientists are using this as an opportunity to study it.

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/01/18/mysterious-rock-suddenly-appears-in-front-of-nasa-mars-rover/

[icymist]

65. You know, that kind of reminds me of coral.

[dipsydoodle]

67. Did it have words through the middle ?

[GeorgeGist]

76. Follow the poop ...

it's a trick.

[Zorra]

81. It's the Martian phrase for "Yankee Go Home". nt

[tblue37]

83. Someone is littering. nt

[spanone]

85. it's a martian.

[cbdo2007]

86. I think it's a hermit crab. You can see it bending down in the prior picture and blending

into the ground, then it is up walking around in the second one. It's not that big of a deal to expect to see some type of animal presence on other planets, so I'm sure they'll find something like that sooner or later. It will just crawl in front of the camera....kind of like this.

[Festivito]

91. Rover wheel slid off it, sent it flying, landed upside down.

In a few days or months it will be as red as its underside is now, I bet.

[alphafemale]

93. Agree. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

94. Obviously, the Martians are negligent in enforcing anti-litter laws.

[DirkGently]

95. Do NOT taunt Happy Fun Rock ...