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Post Conjunction: Santa Maria to Cape York, The Journey to 'Spirit Point'
jamescanvin
post May 30 2011, 07:20 PM
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Skylab crater




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Guest_Sunspot_*
post May 30 2011, 07:44 PM
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Guests
What would these crystals look like if they were still in place in the rock?
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jamescanvin
post May 30 2011, 07:46 PM
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QUOTE (Stu @ May 30 2011, 02:47 PM) *
Oh, very funny, chopping the tops of the hills off like that when we're all panting to make new colour pics of them...


I believe that is what is referred to on 'teh internets' as FAIL! wink.gif

Anyway, it's still worth stitching:




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Stu
post May 30 2011, 08:19 PM
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3D view of Valdivia's funky textured ( © E Lakdawalla 2011 ) surface...

http://twitpic.com/54r38v/full


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centsworth_II
post May 30 2011, 08:45 PM
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QUOTE (Sunspot @ May 30 2011, 02:44 PM) *
What would these crystals look like if they were still in place in the rock?

I have no idea if the missing crystals were gypsum,
but these crystals with matrix removed do
look like they would fit nicely into the Meridiani specimen
of matrix with crystals removed.
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Gypsum, without associated rock matrix.
Size: 5 1/4" wide, 3 3/4" high, 3" thick.
http://www.minresco.com/special/spec3.htm
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Guest_Sunspot_*
post May 30 2011, 08:50 PM
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mmm interesting.

I thought they might have looked sparkly and gem like blink.gif
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centsworth_II
post May 30 2011, 09:40 PM
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More examples of gypsum crystals that look like they would fit nicely into the Meridiani vugs.
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ngunn
post May 30 2011, 10:07 PM
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That's very good centsworth. I don't know if it pins down the mineral because I don't know if there are other minerals that do similar things in sandy environments with who-knows-what chemistry, but I think you've highlighted a very plausible general explanation.
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Stu
post May 30 2011, 10:17 PM
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Can I just say how much I love this place? A picture gets posted, people look at it, suggest explanations and theories, hunt down pics of their own, post them, the discussion moves on...

biggrin.gif



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centsworth_II
post May 30 2011, 10:33 PM
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An alternative hypothesis:
MERIDIANI PLANUM VUGS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF ICE CRYSTAL FORMATION FOLLOWED BY THAW AND DESICCATION
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CosmicRocker
post May 31 2011, 06:04 AM
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Every time I see these vugs I am struck by how similar they appear compared to the ice crystals in mud I often saw in the winter in the midwest. From what I have read, sulphate crystals seem to be the top contender for the formation of these vugs, though. By the way, there is a free electronic book about fossil ice crystals that contains some photos and sketches that look very much like the vug patterns in these rocks.

I can't help but wonder how the team targeted this outcrop. There is no way they could have seen the vugs from any distance, but it seems that they knew exactly what they were going for before Opportunity got there.

When we first saw these vugs I was hoping that the MIs would show them filled with some hydrated sulfate mineral. That would have been an interesting way to discover the polyhydrated sulfates that are supposed to appear as we approach Endeavour.


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ElkGroveDan
post May 31 2011, 02:45 PM
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As a former beach bum they remind me of seagull footprints in the sand.
Attached thumbnail(s)
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djellison
post May 31 2011, 03:29 PM
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QUOTE (CosmicRocker @ May 30 2011, 10:04 PM) *
I can't help but wonder how the team targeted this outcrop.


Easy - use the last two drives before the Memorial Day weekend to arrive at the 'next' piece of outcrop. Stop. Do science for 3 days.
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fredk
post May 31 2011, 06:59 PM
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I'm guessing this means that all (or most) of the outcrops around here have similar vugs. I don't think they somehow honed in on the only one that had vugs.
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jamescanvin
post May 31 2011, 07:45 PM
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Gumdrop Crater


James


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