A "Martian Flower"! Curiosity Sol 132!

Look likes a mineral formation rather than living plant

Originally posted by jeetp
Look likes a mineral formation rather than living plant

It is most likely halite, a crystalline mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride.

Scientists using a camera designed and operated at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight Facility have discovered the first evidence for deposits of chloride minerals - salts - in numerous places on Mars. These deposits, say the scientists, show where water was once abundant and may also provide evidence for the existence of former Martian life.

themis.mars.asu.edu...

Look at this picture:


imageshack.us...

Maximizing the specimen a concavity is well recognizable (1).

Two sharp and regular bended edges (2), inside and outside the concavity, joining a flat surface (3) are distinguishable in the bottom part.

The flat surface seems to terminate at the beginning of a tapered part (4).

The reflectance is strongly nacreous, not glassylooking as if it’d be for a grain of quartz.

Three flakes mutually separated by compound fractures are recognizable on the upper part (5). It seems that flakes are held over the specimen through an underlying matrix.

The appearance of the upper part of the specimen would seem to indicate a possible continuity between the part slightly emerging from the matrix and the part well exposed so that an oval shape is conceivable (6).

The general appearance of the specimen is more similar to a shell than a grain of quartz or a grain of any known terrestrial mineral.

I'm not telling you what it is...I'm just asking you what do you think it may be...

Sorry for my poor english...it's not my native language...


Raffaele

reply to post by Raffaele


Thanks for your post and welcome on ATS!

Your english is better than mine.

Yes, ATS would be a good news source for things like this, I think it's the headline that grabbed attention. The Mars photos are all very interesting, and to see bits and pieces of another planet talked about to this degree is fun no matter what the context. Inquisitive people no longer have to be content with seeing/imagining giant Martian "faces", pyraminds, tunnels or the other things they used to see in overhead images. Now we can "go close-up" and see the world in a grain of sand - only not our world.

Whatever it is, the longer I look at it the more it looks "organic" to me.

That "arc shape" I can't explain. That arc shape AND the luminosity/specular makes it entirely different from all the other structures in the image.
Could it be like stalagmite/stalactite sort of "growth" as we have here in some caves?

...great picture !

The hosting rock looks like a conglomerate since pebbles are clearly visible. Its texture is completely different from the texture of a sandstone. The depositional environment of an arenite is incompatible with the massive occurrence of large lithic fragments easily guessed from the picture.

More likely that layer has originated by the fossilization of an ancient reef located in the “intertidal” zone as the geomorphology of the whole area (look at altimetry and the reflectance of the soils) and some other elements (for example a primary jagged hollowness in the mass) would seem to indicate.

There are a lot of elements that let me incline for a biological origin.

Raffaele

If you look around, there are several other blobs, that with a little wind and sand polishing, could look the same. Slightly up and to the left is one that is peeking out, but not as shiny.

reply to post by Arken


Congrats, Arken. You made Yahoo! News on this topic: news.yahoo.com...

Member ParanoidAmerican found it, and has a thread going here: www.abovetopsecret.com...


Edit: I see others found the Discovery.org story too about this post. Cheers.

Originally posted by Jason88
reply to post by Arken

 

Congrats, Arken. You made Yahoo! News on this topic: news.yahoo.com...

Member ParanoidAmerican found it, and has a thread going here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

edit on 5-1-2013 by Jason88 because: (no reason given)

Thanks for this.

An humble member of ATS on the MSN. Incredible!

reply to post by Arken


I believe NASA will be contacting you to discuss your observation skills and how to best deploy your talents

Originally posted by DoorKnobEddie
reply to post by Arken

 

I believe NASA will be contacting you to discuss your observation skills and how to best deploy your talents

edit on 5-1-2013 by DoorKnobEddie because: (no reason given)

I don't think so....

But if so... I will pretend from NASA/JPL boffins to plan a massive research in HELLAS BASIN!

Then Big News!

reply to post by flexy123


Yeah. You would almost think it was a fossil, if not for the shiny part that's actually protruding from the rock. Hmm...very curious.

ETA: Great catch, btw. I can see what you're talking about with the arc shape.

This looks geological not biological

What exactly I don’t know but I really don’t think it’s a “flower”.

Originally posted by Raffaele
The general appearance of the specimen is more similar to a shell than a grain of quartz or a grain of any known terrestrial mineral.

First of all, welcome to ATS.

Now, I don't think it looks more like a shell than a rock, just look at the rock in the photo below.



Now imagine that rock is partially covered by dust or embedded in other, darker and opaque, rock. You will get something like the photo from Curiosity.

Sorry for my poor english...it's not my native language...

Don't worry, as long as it's good enough for us to understand what you mean (and it is), that's the only things that's needed.

Originally posted by Raffaele
The hosting rock looks like a conglomerate since pebbles are clearly visible.

True.

Its texture is completely different from the texture of a sandstone. The depositional environment of an arenite is incompatible with the massive occurrence of large lithic fragments easily guessed from the picture.

True.

More likely that layer has originated by the fossilization of an ancient reef located in the “intertidal” zone as the geomorphology of the whole area (look at altimetry and the reflectance of the soils) and some other elements (for example a primary jagged hollowness in the mass) would seem to indicate.

Probably something like that, as scientists think this was a lake in ancient times.

There are a lot of elements that let me incline for a biological origin.

That's the only thing with which I do not agree, I don't see anything that makes me think of a biological origin instead of a geologic origin, neither in shape, colour or reflectivity.

...I think the only way to clarify this issue is a...U-turn of Curiosity and a closer look analysis. Until then it's just speculation...

Originally posted by Arken

Originally posted by DoorKnobEddie
reply to post by Arken

 

I believe NASA will be contacting you to discuss your observation skills and how to best deploy your talents

edit on 5-1-2013 by DoorKnobEddie because: (no reason given)

I don't think so....

But if so... I will pretend from NASA/JPL boffins to plan a massive research in HELLAS BASIN!

Then Big News!

edit on 5-1-2013 by Arken because: (no reason given)

...I don't think so too...

reply to post by Arken


SnF Arken for the interesting find. 1 has to wonder why the soil below these "flowers" isn't being tested if in fact that's actual soil growing these. Maybe find some clues there. Again nice find Arken, keep up the good work.
NAMASTE*******