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Amazing balancing rock captured by MER Spirit rover in 2005

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posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 06:43 AM
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I cannot get the uploader to work with my Firefox-like browser (Debian iceweasel) so I cannot show this on here but have to link to the official jpg instead. Sorry about that. I have also done a search for this and it does not seem to have been done before on here. Please link to the other post if it has.

This is a picture of an incredible balancing stone on Mars taken by the rover and which has defied all wind, rain, and other environmental disturbances.

I dont offer any explanation for it, you have to speculate on your own.

marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov...

There are 3 or 4 others taken with different filters if you want to look at them, you can see the thumbnails here

Other information you may need to go searching for this interesting rock
at site A9 Spirit rover



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 06:46 AM
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There are far more impressive examples here on Earth. Simply Google 'balancing rock'

I don't really see anything unusual or 'incredible' in the image. It is just a natural occurrence.
edit on 19-10-2012 by fiftyfifty because: (no reason given)



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 07:10 AM
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reply to post by qmantoo
 


it is the wind and environmental disturbances that caused the rock to be there



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 07:17 AM
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reply to post by qmantoo
 


Almost looks like its been taken to with a chisel.



Good find OP - S&F




posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 07:38 AM
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Not only does it's precarious possition make t look slightly out of place, it's the only smooth rock in the picture. It looks eroded almost by water but if so, how did it get there and not other rocks were eroded?
edit on 19-10-2012 by Wifibrains because: (no reason given)



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 08:01 AM
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As mentioned... it's neat, but nothing unusual... the earth has tons of examples of this!

Any time you deal with an environment that has wind and granular particles ( dirt, sand.. etc ) which Mars has an abundance of.. you get erosion.. erosion of the lower sides can cause that.. of course that's just one of several causes.

So.. yes, neat but not unusual



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 08:03 AM
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Originally posted by Wifibrains
Not only does it's precarious possition make t look slightly out of place, it's the only smooth rock in the picture. It looks eroded almost by water but if so, how did it get there and not other rocks were eroded?
edit on 19-10-2012 by Wifibrains because: (no reason given)


Water isn't the only type of erosion ..the particles on the martian surface are fine and granular.. and there are winds on Mars.. given enough time it would be like sand paper on rock surfaces...



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 08:03 AM
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Though it is unique but don't know what is its significance .



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 08:07 AM
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Originally posted by qmantoo
This is a picture of an incredible balancing stone on Mars taken by the rover and which has defied all wind, rain, and other environmental disturbances.
Sure there are lots on earth...buy they're generally glacial erratics.
So...my first thought is "How did it get there? Glaciers on Mars?" The terrain beneath is pretty eroded, but, with my limited knowledge of geology, I don't know what kind of squared-off extrusion could have been eroded out of the base material.

Ergo...it looks like it got plunked there. Cool!

S&F4U!
edit on 19-10-2012 by JohnnyCanuck because: ...just because, eh?



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 08:18 AM
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ALL rocks are balanced. If they weren't in a state of equilibrium, then gravity would fix that in no time. Just saying.



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 09:42 AM
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reply to post by JohnnyCanuck
 


Strong winds (especially loaded with sand) are also what creates balancing rocks. And there's plenty of wind and sand on Mars. en.wikipedia.org...



posted on Oct, 19 2012 @ 08:31 PM
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edit on 10/19/2012 by MissSmartypants because: mistake



posted on Oct, 20 2012 @ 01:57 AM
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It is interesting how many people point out similarities with rocks on earth. There are many similarities, but then we have wind here whereas I dont see much evidence of wind on Mars. This thread has been moved to the science forum, so maybe you smart science guys can tell me where the wind has gone to.

1) no piles of blueberries (they are small and easily 'blown about'
2) not much drifting up of sand/soil around rocks or lack of sand behind rocks.
3) not much evidence of smoothing and weathering (in spite of all the people on here who have attributed this balancing rock to wind and sand erosion)

So, maybe we can have some explanations why 1,2,and 3 above are not in evidence.

PARTICULARLY number 1

Please dont point to the movies of dust devils which have been released. If there were dust devils, then the blueberries would be blown about into piles like rubbish is here on Earth. The thing is - they are not.



posted on Oct, 20 2012 @ 02:13 AM
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reply to post by qmantoo
 
I think it looks amazing and thought-provoking in terms of time.

Very BIG NASA image here.

Sure, it's probably been shaped by water erosion in ages past and eolian erosion ever since...mundane explanations.

What I like is the possibility that that rock has been poised on that surface for thousands of years. Not enough weather to displace although enough to shear away the surface particle by particle....bit like the Martian atmosphere in the face of solar winds.

Mars can whip up gale-force winds so I'll see if the location is within areas where such weather occurs...if so, it might have been dumped by bad weather and will not be there for long.



posted on Oct, 20 2012 @ 02:51 AM
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reply to post by qmantoo
 


Dust storms on Mars can be seen from Earth, and they can only be created by strong winds.



posted on Oct, 20 2012 @ 03:46 AM
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I thought you all may be interested in this UK Telegraph article about a man who balances stones and the photographs them. Some really amazing stuff !


Dust storms on Mars can be seen from Earth, and they can only be created by strong winds
...And we know they are dust storms... how?

You may like to try to answer the conundrums about the weather I highlighted earlier if you believe there are BIG winds on Mars. Sorry, absolutely nothing I have seen in the MER images tells me there are big winds there.

I challenge the commonly held belief that there are gales and dust storms on Mars, so if you take up my challenge, please provide evidence in the images taken by the rovers that this is so - because I just dont see it. I dont think the evidence is there to be seen with our own eyes.
.



posted on Oct, 20 2012 @ 04:40 AM
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Just as an added extra, something more about this balancing rock subject, here is another one. You will find the rock held up by a pillar slightly left of centre in this original MER image

This one looks like a pillar with a cleared circular area around the base. I have made a couple of cuts from the original and the third has a couple of arrows pointing out the strange balancing pillar and circular area at its base. What sprang to my mind is that you often find smooth areas where many feet have trod... but you also find smooth areas where the wind(?) has locally blown the area smooth of surface stones. You decide, although the area does seem to be in amongst the rocks which often provide a shield from fast-moving winds.

Cut from original


coloured is slightly more easy to see


The pink arrow shows the pillar and the blue arrow shows the circular area at its base.



posted on Oct, 20 2012 @ 05:13 AM
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reply to post by Wifibrains
 


Maybe blasted smooth by them sand storms mars has .
Still cool thou i wonder if it was blasted there by an impact
and there was a bed of sand there that the winds have
now moved?







 
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