Martian Blueberries Explained?

Take a look at this photo of the layered Martian deposits and spheroids. Many theories are out there including wild ideas that the blueberries are fossils, lifeforms, etc. but I think they are Olympian tektites. The stratovolcanoes (Nix Olympica et.al.) are above most of what atmosphere there is (and was). Explosive outbursts would inject an 'aerosol' of molten lava into low orbit and sub-orbital trajectories. The lava droplets would form spheroids in the vacuum of zero-gee space. The solidified droplets would survive re-entry through the tenuous Martian atmosphere to form the layered deposits of 'blueberries' we see today. I think the layered sediments are aeolian (wind deposited), not marine. Ideas?

Well. I think it could be a martian footprint. Or a key to the secret underground martian base laughing at us while we waste our resources on this planet.

Could be anything really. But imagine the Martian equivalent of Alan Titchmarsh or Bill Oddy!!!

i dont see squat in that photo ... wtf am i supposed to be seeing?

There is an analogy of the Martian Blueberries on Earth.
They are located in Utah. They are quite a bit larger, and contain lower concentrations of Hematite, but nonetheless, these spherical formations, give us insight into the conditions that formed the "berries" on Mars..

This is Utah:



And this, is Mars.


Pretty similar?


Here is a bit more information on the Utah Berries

BIG berries

You rock spacedoubt! Great pics. I agree you may have an ID on the blueberries. I still think the layered deposits are aeolian, not marine though. I say this because I spent many years in the deserts of Earth, and I have seen this kind of layered stone layed down by the wind and volcanic eruptions over eons. I want Mars to be wet, but I know that for aeons it has been dry. And I am very curious as to what 'happened' to the atmosphere. Even tiny Titan has a very dense atmosphere.

Chakotay, good thinking.

These blueberries are scattered everywhere in those images from NASA's Opportunity Pancam and microscopic imager in Endurance Crater. But have these science investigators considered what happens to substances other than rock when either heated to melting point above ground or what happens to hot melted substances above surface when propelled or in movement?

I have come across the statements that the area Opportunity is examining was identified as having hematite but not necessarily the blueberries specifically being hematite.

Such as:
The Lure of Hematite

Gray hematite has the same chemical formula (Fe2O3) as its rusty-red cousin, but a different crystalline structure. Red rust is fine and powdery; typical grains are hundreds of nanometers to a few microns across. Gray hematite crystals are larger, like grains of sand.
"Red and gray iron oxides on Mars are really just different forms of the same mineral," explained Hamilton. "If you ground up the gray hematite into a fine powder it would turn red because the smaller grains scatter red light."
Hematite minerals, on the other hand, might have been formed by hydrothermal water deep underground.

and:
The Hematite Group of Minerals

The Hematite Group is a more or less informal group of closely related trigonal oxides. Their relationship is linked through their similar structures. The general formula for this group is A 2O3. The A cations can be either iron, titanium, aluminum, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, antimony, sodium, zinc and/or manganese.
The structure is composed of alternating layers of cations and oxygens. The cations occupy spaces in layers between the oxygen layers and each are bonded to three oxygens in the above layer and three oxygens in the bottom layer. Not all of the sites for these cations are occupied as only two out of three are filled. If all the sites were filled then the formula would be AO in stead of A 2O3.
In the Ilmenite Subgroup, alternating layers of cations are occupied by only titanium or antimony and the other cation layers are occupied by a dissimilar action

and:
Hematite, JPL's Dr. Joy Crisp

Hematite is made up of iron and oxygen-a type of iron oxide. It takes its name from the Greek word for "blood," and is a rusty color in powdered form. Fine-grained hematite helps gives Mars its characteristic red hue.
"We want to know if the grains of hematite appear to be rounded and cemented together by the action of liquid water or if they're crystals that grew from a volcanic melt," says Crisp. "Is the hematite in layers, which would suggest that it was laid down by water, or in veins in the rock, which would be more characteristic of water having flowed through the rocks."

It seems only Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) authors and editors of the APOD site are stating the blueberries are "hematite rich blueberries" not the scientists for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, atleast not that I have found yet.

When hydrothermal or volcanic activity was mentioned as a contributor to the formatation of Mars hematite, where is Mars closest volcano to account for the hematite in Sinus Meridiani, where Meridiani Planum is located?
Thermal is the only thing in common between hydrothermal and volcanic but there are other sources for themal.

I wonder if they serve blueberry pies on mars? I'd have seconds

They do.
It's VERY crunchy and has lots of Iron!

What do you think of Chakotay's Ideas?
That the berries are volcanic in nature?