APOD: 2024 July 31 Б Leopard Spots on Martian Rocks
Explanation:
What is creating these unusual spots?
Light-colored spots on
Martian rocks,
each surrounded by a dark border, were discovered earlier this month by
NASA's
Perseverance Rover currently exploring
Mars.
Dubbed leopard spots because of their seemingly similarity to markings on famous
Earth-bound
predators, these curious patterns are being studied with the possibility they
were created by
ancient Martian life.
The pictured spots measure only
millimeters across and were discovered on a
larger rock named
Cheyava Falls.
The exciting but
unproven
speculation
is that long ago,
microbes
generated energy with chemical reactions that
turned rock from red to white while leaving a dark ring, like some
similarly appearing spots on
Earth rocks.
Although other non-biological explanations may ultimately prevail,
speculation focusing on this potential biological origin is causing
much
intrigue.
New Mirror:
APOD is now available from
Brazil in Portuguese
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
