Strange sight on Mars triggers speculation

By Hum
in Science News & Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Hum

Posted
Posted

Strange black objects seen from 200 miles above the surface of Mars are generating interest and speculation that the unidentified objects could be anything from geysers to sunbathing colonies of microorganisms.

NPR presents several photos of the objects, including one taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 27, 2010, that appears to show "little black flecks dotting the ridges, mostly on the sunny side, like sunbathing spiders sitting in rows."

The objects were first spotted in 1998. Interestingly, they appear when the surface of Mars begins to warm, showing up in the same location most of the time. And then when the Martian winter approaches, they disappear with the same precise regularity. The images have been brought into greater detail by Michael Benson in his book "Planetfall: New Solar System Visions."

Most scientists, including teams from the U.S. Geological Survey, Hungary and the European Space Agency, have their own theories, but the leading explanation is that the objects are geysers of CO2 exploding from underneath the planet's surface.

"If you were there, you'd be standing on a slab of carbon dioxide ice," Phil Christensen of Arizona State University told NPR. "All around you, roaring jets of carbon dioxide gas are throwing sand and dust a couple hundred feet into the air. The ground below would be rumbling.

And while the geyser theory is the most popular explanation, it has yet to be verified.

In the meantime, there are some interesting alternative theories, including one from a group of Hungarian scientists, who have speculated that the objects are actually colonies of photosynthetic Martian microorganisms that emerge each year to sunbathe in the warm weather.

source

post-37120-0-13809000-1349440579.jpg

Contributor

Dorza

Posted
Posted

They should launch a probe and study it. IMO the government should be expanding NASA's budget, not cutting it.

Totally agree, NASA took a monumental leap backwards when the shuttle was retired. Just goes to show what disarray NASA is in with it's funding when they don't have a replacement system ready to go from day one. As far as I'm concerned we should never have stopped going to the moon, we would have had a permanent human presence on the moon today had we not. It would have made the leap to mars more likely, perhaps a bit cheaper and with a little less effort...perhaps.

People just aren't as excited about space as the once were so there is no political will. Thickies would rather sit in front of a TV / Internet all day and be zombified into believing the crap that's shoveled down their mouths or have more interest with who cheated on who via Facebook/Twitter than be inspired by something that's actually meaningful to this race.

  • Jim K and f0rk_b0mb
  • Like 2
Collaborator

Iridium

Posted
Posted

Strange black objects seen from 200 miles above

Thats all i had to read to know this is not science. The SI is the only system for science, designed by scientists for scientists. The pound, the inch and other US units are based on the metric system. It is the base of your stupid system, which by the way WAS NOT given to you by a non existent god but instead your past British overlords.

Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

Posted
Posted

They spent a billion dollars sending the rover to mars. Actually, both the new rovers to mars.

Why the hell didn't they sent it to the 'town' of mars, or 'the face of mars'. . .

The landing site has good possibilities of water traces, which in turn gives higher possibilities of finding signs of life.

These are facts as opposed to the "guesses" of the other things.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/timeline/prelaunch/landingsiteselection/aboutgalecrater/

Grand Master

ILikeTobacco

Posted
Posted

Thats all i had to read to know this is not science. The SI is the only system for science, designed by scientists for scientists. The pound, the inch and other US units are based on the metric system. It is the base of your stupid system, which by the way WAS NOT given to you by a non existent god but instead your past British overlords.

Or maybe they decided to convert it to the target audience. You know, the way you are suppose to do when writing an article or trying to explain something to someone. People find the dumbest things to be nazis about.
Collaborator

Iridium

Posted
Posted

Or maybe they decided to convert it to the target audience. You know, the way you are suppose to do when writing an article or trying to explain something to someone. People find the dumbest things to be nazis about.

Hahah, says someone thinking that not joining the other 95% and ramming their own countries system down our throat is not actually closer to nazism. Also the US public should know the language of science, ignorance is never a good excuse.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Meta is reusing old DDR4 RAM in its servers instead of buying new hardware

      By pookie62 · Posted

      Good think I still have SDRAM and FP RAM sitting around.
    • Fitbit Charge 6 fitness tracker with Google apps is now at its lowest price with 47% off

      By Fiza Ali · Posted

      Fitbit Charge 6 fitness tracker with Google apps is now at its lowest price with 47% off by Fiza Ali Amazon is currently offering the Fitbit Charge 6 fitness tracker at its all-time low price with a 47% discount. The device features an AMOLED touchscreen display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 that should offer improved scratch resistance and durability. The Charge 6 is equipped with a range of sensors including an optical heart rate sensor, a 3-axis accelerometer, built-in GPS with GLONASS support, red and infrared sensors for SpO2 monitoring, a skin temperature sensor, an ambient light sensor, a vibration motor, NFC, and multipurpose electrical sensors compatible with the ECG and EDA Scan apps. Heart rate is recorded every second during exercise tracking and every five seconds during normal daily use. The device requires the Google Health app for setup and synchronisation. Furthermore, Bluetooth provides wireless connectivity for syncing and communication with devices running Apple iOS 16.4 or later and Android 11.0 or later. The tracker stores up to 7 days of minute-by-minute activity data and retains daily activity totals for the previous 30 days. In terms of water resistance, the Fitbit Charge 6 has a 5 ATM rating that should make it suitable for swimming and water activities. The tracker operates in temperatures ranging from 14°F to 113°F and at altitudes of up to 28,000 feet. Moreover, the included Infinity band is made from a flexible silicone material and features a loop-and-peg fastening. The small band fits wrists measuring 5.1 to 6.7 inches, while the large band fits wrists measuring 6.7 to 8.3 inches. Both small and large bands are included in the box. When it comes to battery performance, the Fitbit Charge 6 should deliver up to 7 days of battery life under typical usage conditions. Features such as the Always-On Display, built-in GPS, and SpO2 monitoring increase power consumption and may require more frequent charging. The rechargeable lithium-polymer battery should take approximately two hours to charge from empty to full. Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker with Google Apps: $85.45 (Amazon US) - 47% off Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Google's new hand-wave reCAPTCHA can be bypassed with a stock photo

      By Jdoe25 · Posted

      google, meta, microsoft, true cancers of modern society
    • TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28

      By Copernic · Posted

      TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28 by Razvan Serea TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, also providing you with a lot of features. Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives. Pause and resume transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click. Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer. Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files. Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual. TeraCopy is free for non-commercial use only. For commercial use you need to buy a license. The paid version of the program includes the following features: Copy/move to your favorite folders. Save reports as HTML and CSV files. Select files with the same extension/folder. Remove the selected files from the copy queue. Features added since version 3.17: Enhanced speed graph. New multi-threaded copy engine. Support for copying to multiple targets. Queue system for managing multiple copy operations. Support for receiving files via the LocalSend protocol. TeraCopy entry in the modern Windows Explorer context menu. Integrated toolbar in the title bar. Why receive LocalSend transfers with TeraCopy? Handle file conflicts: Skip, overwrite, or rename files when a file with the same name already exists. LocalSend always creates another copy, which can waste time and disk space, especially when resuming an interrupted transfer. Filter unwanted files: Apply ignore lists or remove files manually before accepting a transfer, so unnecessary files are not downloaded. Better performance on fast networks: In tests over a 10 Gbps connection, TeraCopy received files several times faster than the standard LocalSend app on Windows. TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28 changelog: Fixed a bug where Overwrite behaved as Overwrite All during same-drive move operations. AdvancedInstaller fixed the installer’s security vulnerability: EXE Bootstrapper resolved the %appdata% location incorrectly for the System account. Download: TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28 | 14.6 MB (Freeware, paid upgrade available) View: TeraCopy Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview

      By BlueScreenJunky · Posted

      First exciting thing to come to Windows in a long time ! This is the kind of things they should focus on, instead of cramming as much AI as they can in everything.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      536
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      97
    5. 5
      macoman
      61
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!