Did Curiosity Photograph A Plant Or Tree On Mars In Sept. 2016?

There is no shadow from the object but the other formations clearly sport a shadows.

Too easy.

It looks like someone or something is a little too early with their Christmas tree.

looking at the top left part of the "object" that curves down and to the left away from the "trunk/stalk/body, there are 3 lighter colored circular features that look very similar to this anomaly found on mars a few years ago. maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.

dang. I'm having trouble posting the pic. if you've looked at any mars anomalies the last few years you will recognize the one I'm talking about. it looks like a little plant or something with 3 white suction cups or nodes of some sort on a broad, flat surface

Maybe NASA's trolling us.

It could be a fulgurite, caused by some lightning in the past, and exposed as the sand blew away.
We have many examples of them on Earth, and they do look somewhat similar.




Source:9Gag


Source:Alamy

originally posted by: Zarniwoop
Not a tree, or any other upright object, it appears.

I noticed how the shadows are directly under the overhanging rocks. The shadows are not to the right or left of the rocks. If you look in the whole picture you can see that the shadows are under the overlying rocks.

I don't know what that means but the shadow would not be where your arrow is pointing.

a reply to: charlyv


BOOM! Great post, Charlyv!

It looks like a crevice in the rocks to me, but if it isn't, the fulgarite explanation is top.

a reply to: Cropper

Christmas on mars is in September.... it's a traditional Alien thing, December is "attack that blue planet for taking away our privacy rights by perving on us with their machines " month.

a reply to: charlyv

Your 2nd picture looks like the ideal place to fake Mars photos hmmmmm.

Triffid!

I'll give it a go. I say it's a sand covered icicle. It once hung from the overhanging rock above, it melted/dripped a bit causing the ring in the sand below. When it finally broke free the remaining icicle stuck straight up in the sand.

It reminds me of sand covered ice I saw during winters around lake Michigan. Cold driving winds can do strange things to ice and sand.

originally posted by: humanoidlord
optical illusion, its an striation in the background rock

...or swamp gas....or Chunese lantern

a reply to: liejunkie01

I don't know what that means but the shadow would not be where your arrow is pointing.

While the angle of sunlight appears to be from above, unless the sun was directly overhead, I think we should still see a bit of a shadow based on the height of the proposed tree, somewhere below the tree.

In the full image if you zoom in on the object then scroll up through the rocks slightly to the left you'll find similar lines.

originally posted by: ausername
In the full image if you zoom in on the object then scroll up through the rocks slightly to the left you'll find similar lines.

If you find those lines and examine the trail down, it almost appears as if it is a liquid trail going down the rocks....

a reply to: Macenroe82

really i am sticking with the illusion explanation for now

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

still looks very 2d

a reply to: norhoc

its an recent striation caused either by wind or maybe just maybe water
it continues because well, thats what the wind or water flowing down does

a reply to: shawmanfromny

1:rock
2:already explained by me
3: optical illusion
4ptical illusion
5: also optical illusion