[X] My Assistant

[dilo]

I do not know if is Voltaire or another one, but the fractured rock Spirit is analyzing is pretty interesting...
First, there is a strange "extruded" portion, visible in the right/low region of this "crossed eyes" stereogram:

Herebelow, L257 PanCam image in the top portion; I highlighted in red the portion pictured with MI (lower mosaic):

Many interesting features, here. In addition to the sand filled fracture, there is a strange circular feature (enlarged in the small picture)... someone could see a biological fossil fingerprint in it ?...

[deglr6328]

JBS Haldane? Except I think he used "queer" instead of "strange" which for some reason people don't cotton to these days.

[Nirgal]

ok, couldn't resist this one: here is this "ultra-queer" Sol557 MI-rock in
color (to be taken with the usual "false-color disclaimer"



http://mitglied.lycos.de/user73289/misc/sp...m557p_col_a.jpg

... this new world is getting stranger all the time ...

[bluemars1]

OK, Nirgal et al. - I'll admit it: I don't know what's so queer about any of these. Maybe it's because I've played with too much molten solder and plastic during my formative years. Maybe I've been to too many caves. Or maybe I"ve stepped on too much decorative "lava rock" while barefoot. But when I see rocks that look like frozen drips, I think either molten rock cooling in flight (whether lava or molten from impact) or I think long, slow stalactite-type buildup.

When I see crinkled rock (with lots of semi-parallel ripples in it), I think cooling molten rock that has hit the ground while still in a plastic state.

Since I was under the impression that volcanism, impact cratering, and long-term exposure to small amounts of water were all accepted conditions of martian history, I'm just not sure what's so queer.

You and others are obviously seeing something interesting that I don't, and if I'm not being too much of a pest, I'd appreciate some more specific direction on what features to be looking at.

Thanks,
Blue Mars

[Nirgal]

OK, Nirgal et al. - I'll admit it: I don't know what's so queer about any of these. Maybe it's because I've played with too much molten solder and plastic during my formative years. 
....
You and others are obviously seeing something interesting that I don't, and if I'm not being too much of a pest, I'd appreciate some more specific direction on what features to be looking at.

Hi blue mars,

I'm not a geologist, but from time to time am just "aesthetically" fascinated by the visual appearance of the rock ... if I say strange or bizarre. this has nothing to do with "fossil or artifact suspicion" In fact, I'm 100% sure that those rocks are of "natural" origin (lava etc.) ...
It's just that some of them have individually interesting morphology, just like on earth, one is sometimes fascinted by the shape of one particular cloud or stone or mountain etc.

[dilo]

Hi Nirgal, your colorized mosaic is simply amazing! ...and realistic too!!
Do you based it also on some PanCam true color picture, or is totally artificial?