I think it's a distortion as there's a lot of banding around it.
However that lump of coral in the foreground is really interesting and just like the one I've got on my hall console. Oh forgot...Mars.

Although i am no expert, but this paragraph has raised a flag or is it perhaps my curiosity that has been provoked.

My question is if a meteorite had hit the surface given the diameter of the object in question is that within the image would than not have left a much larger impact crater. Then again, if a larger crater was left would that be filled with the surface soil in a time frame of three weeks.

I am sure that someone could fill in the blanks here, but it simply seems odd to me that a crater was not formed and obviously the dot above the horizon.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found a rock that apparently is another meteorite, less than three weeks after driving away from a larger meteorite that the rover examined for six weeks.

Originally posted by tristar
Although i am no expert, but this paragraph has raised a flag or is it perhaps my curiosity that has been provoked.

My question is if a meteorite had hit the surface given the diameter of the object in question is that within the image would than not have left a much larger impact crater. Then again, if a larger crater was left would that be filled with the surface soil in a time frame of three weeks.

I am sure that someone could fill in the blanks here, but it simply seems odd to me that a crater was not formed and obviously the dot above the horizon.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found a rock that apparently is another meteorite, less than three weeks after driving away from a larger meteorite that the rover examined for six weeks.

Good point on the crater! I think though that it just took three weeks from the viewing of another meteorite however far away to get to this one and not it landed there three weeks prior. We have to remember that there are crazy sand storms regularly on mars and the who knows when it landed there. But still it does strike me as odd to have no sign of a crater for a decent sized rock...

It's unlikely that it was a meteor. Meteors move very fast, and would appear as streaks in photographs, not a dot. It would also likely be a light/bright looking object, since there is enough atmosphere (as far as I'm aware) to make the meteor appear to glow.

Probably just dust on/in the camera IMHO.

Originally posted by nomadros
I think it's a distortion as there's a lot of banding around it.
However that lump of coral in the foreground is really interesting and just like the one I've got on my hall console. Oh forgot...Mars.

It's a solid black disk with a lighter "trail" above it. The "banding" which I see in the form of white globules could be explained, if the black object is a real solid object occupying space, as the black object affecting the atmosphere around the object particularly if the object was moving down since the white "globues" are mostly below it as if the object was pushing down. Just a far-out explanation and may have no source in fact.

And this is not the first or only Martian photo to show something similar.


[edit on 26-11-2009 by The Shrike]

I would like to point out here two distinct features which simply do not add up, unless i am interpreting things totally wrong.

This is were it becomes interesting, since most if not all agree that its perhaps a dust particle on the image lens, or an image distortion, then we most certainly agree that similar dots and depth of color throughout the image are of a similar nature. Therefore, if that is an image distortion glitch, then what ever is similar will be affected of what ever the outcome after interpretation of image analysis software. Oddly enough the only "black dot" that is affected as shown in Image A and Image B, is that of the one above the horizon. About now you also realize that a "white dot" has moved to the direction of the "Black dot". You can also see that the distance between the leading edge of the solar panel and the rock is closer, indicating that the rover is in fact traveling on a horizontal axis from West to East, also a vertical line has been added showing another relevant waypoint to allow interpretation of traveling distance and direction which that too simply does not add up. Even if we rotate the image the angle at which everything "should meet" does not seem to meet.

Conclusion:

There are far to many waypoints which do meet up but the two distinct "dots" in question located at the horizon simply do not match the waypoints located at the foreground of the image.

Image A


Image B