Starship Asterisk*

Curiosity at Murray Buttes on Mars

Explanation: What are these unusual lumps on Mars? As NASA's robotic Curiosity rover continues rolling across Mars, it is now approaching Murray Buttes. Several of the 15-meter high buttes are visible ahead in this horizontally compressed 360-degree across image taken inside Gale Crater earlier this month. The buttes are thought similar to Earth buttes in that they are capped with dense rock that is relatively resistant to erosion. In the image center is Curiosity's "arm" and "hand" used to examine rocks up close, drill into rocks, and collect samples. Curiosity has reached its four year anniversary on Mars and has been cleared to spend the next two years further exploring the slopes of Mount Sharp, the peak of which is the distant light-colored structure visible on the far left.

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Four year anniversary? A bit of tautology there - it is the fourth anniversary!

aljo wrote:Four year anniversary? A bit of tautology there - it is the fourth anniversary!

Maybe, maybe not, at least in American English. A phrase in a report I once wrote for an American business, was corrected from "per annum" to "per year", because (I was told) "Americans don't know what an annum is". I was shocked and appalled for a moment, but I survived.

Furthermore, the word "anniversary" has been extended in meaning by some. For example, it is not that uncommon to hear of new couples celebrating their one-month anniversary and so forth (any excuse for a party).

But the big question is whether it is four Earth years, or four Martian years?

Great scenery, fantastic pictures and great mission success. I follow weekly the raw images of curiosity with the Mars Images-App. Hopefully Curiosity's wheels keep healty.

But I still have doubts about the colors. The raw images look more red:
http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw ... ra=MAST%5F

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=36274

the rounded dark rock closely in front and slightly right of curiosity does not appear to belong to the bedrock......might be a meteorite

Next to Earth, Mars has to be my favorite planet in the Solar System. I never tire of seeing APOD entries about this fascinating world.

If you haven't already, you can explore Mars yourself with a free smartphone app called Midnight Planets. Extremely interactive, you can rotate 360 for a panorama, swing 180 up and down, zoom in and out, select and examine individual images, and probably other things I haven't found out yet. And it's not only for Curiosity but for the Opportunity and Spirit rovers, too.

aljo wrote:Four year anniversary? A bit of tautology there - it is the fourth anniversary!

"Anniversary" need not refer to an annual recurrence, but any regular recurrence at all, with any units of time. It's actually clearer to include the time unit to avoid ambiguity. What remains ambiguous, however, is if the years in question are Earth years or Martian years (it's actually Earth years).

from this great picture we can deduce two important facts
1. we see the ground of the Martian ocean, well smoothed by the ancient water.

2. we can find out the depth of the bay looking at the horisontal long line of
the dark soil on the top of the hill at left.
it wasa good bay.

isblech@gmail.com wrote:from this great picture we can deduce hypothesize two important facts possible interpretations...

Fixed that for you.

Chris Peterson wrote: "Anniversary" need not refer to an annual recurrence, but any regular recurrence at all, with any units of time.

I don't know where you get that impression! I cannot find any dictionary where it can mean anything other than an annual occurrence, which is more logical.

aljo wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote: "Anniversary" need not refer to an annual recurrence, but any regular recurrence at all, with any units of time.

I don't know where you get that impression! I cannot find any dictionary where it can mean anything other than an annual occurrence, which is more logical.

I guess you didn't look too hard. How about Merriam-Webster: the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event; broadly : a date that follows such an event by a specified period of time measured in units other than years <the 6-month anniversary of the accident>. Or how about the OED: The date on which a romance began in a previous month or week.

Of course, dictionaries do not define words in English, they merely report on common usage. And the use of "anniversary" for non-annual intervals is increasingly common.

Neither does etymology reliably define word meaning or usage, so it's not a matter of logic at all.

Thanks Chris!

That dog is vertically depressed.
This dog loves his hori"zone"...

Fred the Cat wrote:That dog is vertically depressed.

And these famous people are being horizontally compressed.

Chris Peterson wrote:

Fred the Cat wrote:That dog is vertically depressed.

And these famous people are being horizontally compressed.

They look ready to "Feel the Force" but Beau is more apt to feel the "floors". Puppies are like some stars – they use up their energy fast then collapse.

Makes Mt. Sharp look like a pyramid.... might fuel conspiracy theories....

:---[===] *

I strongly suggest that viewers click on the compressed image to see the un-compressed version of the image. It is even more impressive. Please excuse any grammatical errors you might find in my post.

Catalina wrote:I strongly suggest that viewers click on the compressed image to see the un-compressed version of the image. It is even more impressive. Please excuse any grammatical errors you might find in my post. :-)

For those who may not be aware of it, you should always click on the main page image to see the actual APOD. The image on the main page is usually altered in some way- distorted, cropped, or reduced in size.

The strange rock in front of Curiosity has a very blueish metallic look. It is certainly out of sync with the rest of the rocks. It has a clear triangle in front.

Possibly a nickel/iron meteorite remnant
Although, with the context of the other rock above it, and the strategically placed dark patch which resembles an eye socket, I am reminded of the breathing apparatus of Darth Vader

Images like this sure make you want to believe the atmosphere is thicker than what has been reported.

-Noel