First drill stop: John Klein in Yellowknife Bay, Site 6, Sol 166-271, January 23-May 12, 2013 |
First drill stop: John Klein in Yellowknife Bay, Site 6, Sol 166-271, January 23-May 12, 2013 |
Feb 19 2013, 08:28 PM
Post
#376
|
|
Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 30 Joined: 6-September 12 From: Denver Member No.: 6641 |
I wasn't going to go that far and speculate what gases they could be, if these are truly gas escape structures. The link you provided to the article about the similar structures in Colorado refers to the gas probably being methane. However, I assume any type trapped gas could cause these structures. It is certainly suggestive that the color of the rock they just drilled into indicates a reducing environment. The same type of environment that methane is found on Earth today.
|
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 12:19 AM
Post
#377
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
It's also wise to remember that water & of course CO2 sublimate at Mars surface pressure.
Jury's still out on what these are, but if they are in fact gas escape features then those two substances would be the most likely candidates by a wide margin. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 01:00 AM
Post
#378
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 699 Joined: 3-December 04 From: Boulder, Colorado, USA Member No.: 117 |
Don't we also sometimes see these structures in vertical surfaces, perpendicular to the bedding plane? If so, they are more likely to be the rims of small concretions, as has been discussed previously, than gas escape structures.
John |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 01:21 AM
Post
#379
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1465 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Columbus OH USA Member No.: 13 |
fredk: the tardy images are now there--I was still only looking back 60 days.
-------------------- |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 02:13 AM
Post
#380
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1043 Joined: 17-February 09 Member No.: 4605 |
It's also wise to remember that water & of course CO2 sublimate at Mars surface pressure. Possibly not at the time these features formed. There are lots of Earth analogues that could explain these features, including the suggested gas release, concretions or nodules. Diapirs or armored mud balls would be a good fit for the large examples seen. |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 02:23 AM
Post
#381
|
|
Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 42 Joined: 19-October 12 Member No.: 6719 |
Anyone have a vacuum chamber and some clay-y mud?
Also I have to wonder what would happen to a carbonate / mud mix when sulfuric acid percolates through it. I would think that CO2 would bubble out it... |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 03:43 AM
Post
#382
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
I gotta side with John: Concretion 'craters' are a far more likely explanation.
Consider: Escaping gas bubbles would only be possible in a malleable--presumably wet--surface if the atmosphere was considerably different than that of today. Very well, but how would such features be preserved for a couple of billion years in such an apparently pristine fashion given such an atmosphere with stronger winds? We have substantial evidence that wind erosion is a modern process on Mars, albeit operating much more slowly then on Earth. Therefore, these features are more likely to be artifacts of previous concretions that formed in a wet environment and weathered away faster then the substrate in which they were embedded due to compositional differences (possibly moisture content) as the planet's climate evolved. Gotta wait for the experts to officially weigh in, but that's the hypothesis that makes the most sense to me right now. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 06:47 AM
Post
#383
|
||
Newbie Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 12-February 13 Member No.: 6865 |
INTERACTIVE panorama from Mars: Curiosity Rover's Self Portrait at "John Klein" Drilling Site:
http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-panorama-curiosity-solar-day-177 This self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines 66 exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Feb. 3, 2013). At the bottom of this panorama is the hole in a rock. The drilling took place on Feb. 8, 2013, or Sol 182, Curiosity's 182nd Martian day of operations. The images for full panorama obtained by the rover's 34-millimeter Mast Camera. The mosaic, which stretches about 30,000 pixels width, includes 113 images taken on Sol 170 and an additional 17 images taken on Sol 176. Please don't hesitate to share it First BW panorama of Mars from Curiosity rover got more that 1,700,000 views from August 2012: http://www.360cities.net/image/curiosity-rover-martian-solar-day-2 |
|
|
||
Feb 20 2013, 07:54 AM
Post
#384
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2082 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
Perfect! Getting Mars Street View a century early, what's not to like? |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 09:16 AM
Post
#385
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 282 Joined: 18-June 04 Member No.: 84 |
I gotta side with John: Concretion 'craters' are a far more likely explanation. Consider: Escaping gas bubbles would only be possible in a malleable--presumably wet--surface if the atmosphere was considerably different than that of today. Entirely consistent with what John Grotzinger has said about this area though. And if these structures can survive in a very active Earth environment, i'm pretty sure they could do the same on Mars. |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 09:26 AM
Post
#386
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 691 Joined: 21-December 07 From: Clatskanie, Oregon Member No.: 3988 |
Wow 360pano.eu, That took my breath away! Very Superb work!
|
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 11:52 AM
Post
#387
|
|
Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 63 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 312 |
Tht is just awsome - definitely the closest thing to being there particularly if you display on HD widescreen TV
Amazing work ! |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 01:39 PM
Post
#388
|
|
Newbie Group: Members Posts: 11 Joined: 1-February 13 Member No.: 6854 |
First post.
360pano.eu: Wow, that is fantastic! All: Has there been any hint from the MSL team that the "shiny prong" will be a ChemCam target? Some closer MAHLI shots of it would be nice too. |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 04:30 PM
Post
#389
|
|
Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10153 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
I think it's too far away for ChemCam from here, and might be tricky to reach, certainly for MAHLI. But there may be others.
Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PD: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
|
|
Feb 20 2013, 04:37 PM
Post
#390
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
It appears to be out of range for the laser, at around 9 metres vs laser range 7 metres. I guess chemcam imaging could be done.
To get any benefit from mahli, we'd have to drive a lot closer, and it doesn't look like that's going to happen soon. The bigger question is: does the team think it's worth the effort? Edit: scooped by Phil! |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 27th April 2024 - 12:58 AM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |