APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan 29)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
User avatar
MarkBour
Subtle Signal
Posts: 1377
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by MarkBour » Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:53 am

I think it's fantastic in any case. Opportunity just wanted to show up the newcomer, Curiosity and steal the limelight for a bit. So, if it turns out to be an overturned rock, then it makes me wonder ... Opportunity is not very good at doing that sort of thing on purpose, is it? I mean can it do that sort of thing with its arm, or is that too difficult of a maneuver? Probably would damage valuable instruments, trying to mess around with that.

But for Curiosity, it could repeat this kind of exercise often, right? It could use its scoop to overturn small rocks, I think.

.. And it's really too bad they didn't see the overturned rock for a few days. They were too slow to have seen the hermit crab that walked away in the other direction in search of a new home. :-)
Mark Goldfain

tanfromthesun

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by tanfromthesun » Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:12 am

Martian cops left it there when writing a parking ticket. :lol2:

b9f077ac@opayq.com

Nasa sued for not investigating donut

Post by b9f077ac@opayq.com » Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:59 pm

Heard on on-line radio, someone has filed lawsuit. :lol2:

User avatar
geckzilla
Ocular Digitator
Posts: 9180
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:42 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Re: Nasa sued for not investigating donut

Post by geckzilla » Mon Feb 03, 2014 7:22 pm

b9f077ac@opayq.com wrote:Heard on on-line radio, someone has filed lawsuit. :lol2:
By known crackpot, Rhawn Joseph. This is the same guy who claimed to find alien diatoms floating in our atmosphere which arrived here via panspermia... complete waste of time. He seems to be trying to make a name for himself by claiming discovery of fake aliens. It only takes a brief glance of his silly lawsuit to realize that's what his goal is. He repeatedly refers to himself as the discoverer. Even if it did turn out to be some kind of alien, he wouldn't be the discoverer.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.

Keyman
Ensign
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:11 pm
Contact:

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Keyman » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:40 pm

geckzilla wrote: By known crackpot, Rhawn Joseph.
He seems to be trying to make a name for himself by claiming discovery of fake aliens.
As long as he doesn't discover any real aliens. :mrgreen:

User avatar
BMAONE23
Commentator Model 1.23
Posts: 4076
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:55 pm
Location: California

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by BMAONE23 » Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:06 pm

Keyman wrote:
geckzilla wrote: By known crackpot, Rhawn Joseph.
He seems to be trying to make a name for himself by claiming discovery of fake aliens.
As long as he doesn't discover any real aliens. :mrgreen:
And they don't discover him and thereby judge the rest of the world accordingly

User avatar
Beyond
500 Gigaderps
Posts: 6889
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:09 am
Location: BEYONDER LAND

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Beyond » Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:30 pm

But... But... wait a minute... IF he actually discovers real aliens, wouldn't that make him an un-cracked pot :?: :lol2:
To find the Truth, you must go Beyond.

Isotelusmaximus
Asternaut
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:06 am

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Isotelusmaximus » Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:11 am

Has anyone mentioned this object might be a Martian puffball of sorts?

FB

User avatar
rstevenson
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Posts: 2704
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 1:24 pm
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by rstevenson » Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:10 pm

Isotelusmaximus wrote:Has anyone mentioned this object might be a Martian puffball of sorts?
No, and I hope you're not going to.

Rob

Mark Jones

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Mark Jones » Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:58 am

Perhaps these are the stones alluded to in previous posts, but the descriptions which have been provided here, do not make it clear. I think the Jelly Donut is a new chunk of debris in it "after" position. How it got there is subject to educated speculation. That Opportunity "layed a patch" and disturbed the surface material is highly likely and might really be the only true cause of, unless a highly unusual arrival of a meteor nearby dropped deposits here after impact -- all without disturbing the rover. Anyway, there is a formation of three stones which lie approximately 1/5 of the frame below the Jelly Donut. On Sol 3528, they are arranged as a triangle. In the "after" frame (Sol 3540), these stones really seem to be have been rearranged so that they are linear. I posit that Opportunity is somewhat ham-handed in how it conducts studies . . . . but I'm not being critical. It's a hazard of the assignment.

User avatar
MarkBour
Subtle Signal
Posts: 1377
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by MarkBour » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:01 am

I've looked for updates on this from NASA. I would think the rock and its suspected original location would be of great interest to them. Yet, I haven't seen anything. Has anyone else?
Mark Goldfain

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18113
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Chris Peterson » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:05 am

MarkBour wrote:I've looked for updates on this from NASA. I would think the rock and its suspected original location would be of great interest to them. Yet, I haven't seen anything. Has anyone else?
No. I think it is only of moderate interest. They've aimed some instruments at it to examine the mineralogy, but beyond that, I don't think it's creating much of a hiccup in the overall mission plan. I wouldn't be surprised to see a paper in the next year, assuming the mineralogy proves unusual- something that isn't obviously the case.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

User avatar
MarkBour
Subtle Signal
Posts: 1377
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by MarkBour » Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:33 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
MarkBour wrote:I've looked for updates on this from NASA. I would think the rock and its suspected original location would be of great interest to them. Yet, I haven't seen anything. Has anyone else?
No. I think it is only of moderate interest. They've aimed some instruments at it to examine the mineralogy, but beyond that, I don't think it's creating much of a hiccup in the overall mission plan. I wouldn't be surprised to see a paper in the next year, assuming the mineralogy proves unusual- something that isn't obviously the case.
The Mars rover lead scientist Steve Squyres of Cornell University the other day made the following comments:
[The rock] obligingly turned upside down, so we're seeing a side that hasn't seen the Martian atmosphere in billions of years and there it is for us to investigate.
. . .
The jelly part is like nothing we’ve seen before on Mars. It’s very high in sulfur and magnesium and it has twice as much manganese as anything we’ve seen before. I don’t know what any of this means. We’re completely confused, everybody on the team is arguing and fighting. We’re having a wonderful time!
. . .
It will likely be the target of considerable investigation over the next few days.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... z2t1y45JTJ
And I know they have had the rover sitting there, trying a number of tough movements to bring its instruments to bear on the "Pinnacle Island" sample. Also, they would want to investigate the theory about its point of origin to verify that it was indeed flipped over by Opportunity. 10 years, this rover has been on the planet, and I don't think that in the previous 9.9 years, it managed to do this kind of thing before, at least not on a strikingly interesting sample. They named it Opportunity, and here it is. But I do hope they share some findings sooner than a year from now in a paper, if only to give answers to the questions they themselves raised in the public consciousness.
Mark Goldfain

BDanielMayfield
Don't bring me down
Posts: 2524
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:24 am
AKA: Bruce
Location: East Idaho

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by BDanielMayfield » Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:18 pm

MarkBour wrote:And I know they have had the rover sitting there, trying a number of tough movements to bring its instruments to bear on the "Pinnacle Island" sample. Also, they would want to investigate the theory about its point of origin to verify that it was indeed flipped over by Opportunity. 10 years, this rover has been on the planet, and I don't think that in the previous 9.9 years, it managed to do this kind of thing before, at least not on a strikingly interesting sample. They named it Opportunity, and here it is. But I do hope they share some findings sooner than a year from now in a paper, if only to give answers to the questions they themselves raised in the public consciousness.
Things about this that should no longer be viewed as "theory" but as rock solid fact: (1) It's a rock. (2) It's from Mars. (3) It was dislodged by one of Opportunity's wheels. (4) This is part of the indentation in the ground where it used to lay:
BMAONE23 wrote:Here is an interesting article on the rock in PHYS.ORG containing an image of the likely former resting place partially visible beneath the Rover Solar Array Wing
Just as zero is not equal to infinity, everything coming from nothing is illogical.

User avatar
MarkBour
Subtle Signal
Posts: 1377
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by MarkBour » Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:41 pm

BDanielMayfield wrote:Things about this that should no longer be viewed as "theory" but as rock solid fact: (1) It's a rock. (2) It's from Mars. (3) It was dislodged by one of Opportunity's wheels. (4) This is part of the indentation in the ground where it used to lay:
Thanks for that additional info. Although I am pretty convinced that this is the correct explanation, I suppose for due diligence, a better image of that purported point of origin, and the space between that point and the final resting place should be obtained. I would look also for signs of the rock having bounced or rolled through the area, consistent with the slope that exists, which must be able to be determined quite well by the rover's team. In fact, I wonder if some really clever person could deduce from such information a weight and density of the rock.

Anyway, I still find it wonderful that this rock shows such an unusual composition. I would think that it might be a good idea to add to Curiosity's protocol to try to overturn or dislodge some small rocks on purpose, if that was not already in the plan. I think it seems a very interesting source of new information ... a little different than digging in the sand.
Mark Goldfain

User avatar
neufer
Vacationer at Tralfamadore
Posts: 18805
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Omnem moVERE lapidem

Post by neufer » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:24 pm

MarkBour wrote:
I would think that it might be a good idea to add to Curiosity's protocol to try to overturn or dislodge some small rocks on purpose, if that was not already in the plan. I think it seems a very interesting source of new information ... a little different than digging in the sand.
http://web.mit.edu/21h.418/www/asmorg/stone_o.html wrote:
<<Leave no stone unturned: that is, try everything, leave nothing unattempted. Many writers say that this adage arose in the following way. When Xerxes made war on the Greeks, and was vanquished at Salamis, he himself moved away from there but left Mardonius behind to carry on the war in his name. When the latter had also been worsted in the fight at Plataeae, and had taken flight, a rumour got about that Mardonius had left an immense treasure buried in the ground near his tent. Incited by this prospect, Polycrates, a Theban, bought that piece of ground. However, when he had looked for the treasure long and thoroughly, and had made no progress, he consulted the oracle of Delphi, as to how he could find that money. Apollo replied in these words 'Omnem moVERE lapidem (Leave no stone unturned)'. As soon as he had done this, he found, they say, a great hoard of gold.>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Stone_Unturned wrote:
<<_No Stone Unturned_ is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones released in 1973. Eight of the twelve tracks had been previously released on single b-sides in the United Kingdom, and the rest had been released on EPs.>>
Art Neuendorffer

User avatar
Beyond
500 Gigaderps
Posts: 6889
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:09 am
Location: BEYONDER LAND

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Beyond » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:36 pm

I just had a thought of turning over stones and finding a very wrinkled Mick Jagger under it. Memo to self... leave sleeping stones alone.
To find the Truth, you must go Beyond.

User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21573
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by bystander » Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:51 pm

Jelly Donut Mystery Solved
NASA | JPL-Caltech | 2014 Feb 14
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

User avatar
geckzilla
Ocular Digitator
Posts: 9180
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:42 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by geckzilla » Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:24 pm

Ah, there we go. So it wasn't just plucked from that earlier indentation (if at all) but originally broke from another rock and there's the other rock. That's a satisfying picture.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.

BDanielMayfield
Don't bring me down
Posts: 2524
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:24 am
AKA: Bruce
Location: East Idaho

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by BDanielMayfield » Sat Feb 15, 2014 9:39 pm

BDanielMayfield wrote: Things about this that should no longer be viewed as "theory" but as rock solid fact: (1) It's a rock. (2) It's from Mars. (3) It was dislodged broken off a larger rock by one of Opportunity's wheels. (4) This is part of the indentation in the ground where it used to lay:
I beg pardon for my oversimplification.

Bruce
Just as zero is not equal to infinity, everything coming from nothing is illogical.

Techneck

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Techneck » Sat May 09, 2015 12:03 pm

Why is the image cropped, in SOL 3540, right at the piece of small debris, similar to the Jelly Doughnut mater composition, compared to the FOV of SOL 3528. Something to hide? Just a thought. Would love to see the full frame... :mrgreen:

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18113
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by Chris Peterson » Sat May 09, 2015 1:51 pm

Techneck wrote:Why is the image cropped, in SOL 3540, right at the piece of small debris, similar to the Jelly Doughnut mater composition, compared to the FOV of SOL 3528. Something to hide? Just a thought. Would love to see the full frame... :mrgreen:
You can download the individual frames if you want. They're just not linked in the APOD caption.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

User avatar
neufer
Vacationer at Tralfamadore
Posts: 18805
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Re: APOD: Jelly Donut Shaped Rock Appears on Mars (2014 Jan

Post by neufer » Sat May 09, 2015 4:07 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
Techneck wrote:
Why is the image cropped, in SOL 3540, right at the piece of small debris, similar to the Jelly Doughnut mater composition, compared to the FOV of SOL 3528. Something to hide? Just a thought. Would love to see the full frame... :mrgreen:
You can download the individual frames if you want.

They're just not linked in the APOD caption.
Art Neuendorffer

Post Reply