Comments on: Perseverance spots a rock made of many tiny spherules https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/ Tue, 25 Mar 2025 03:41:12 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Allan https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1568014 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 03:41:12 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1568014 Spiders eggs. Similar to…
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6e/3e/c4/6e3ec4f25e498e90d9c2bc7f1b720555.jpg

]]> By: Lee S https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1568011 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 03:24:00 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1568011 And as an aside…. It’s intriguing that the rock is all on its own… If it is a product of an impact event, you would expect to see bits scattered over the whole area….. My current best theory is that it was dropped in the rovers path, by Martians, just to mess with us.

]]> By: BP https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1567906 Mon, 24 Mar 2025 22:00:31 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1567906 Iron oxide nodules from a meteorite?

]]> By: Lee S https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1567871 Mon, 24 Mar 2025 21:08:18 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1567871 Or perhaps a fossil of early bacterial life on the red planet…. I was intrigued by the “blueberry’s” opportunity discovered pretty much as soon as it landed. Perhaps early life on Mars favoured a spherical form? Or perhaps I’m just hoping too much… Either way, it’s an extremely interesting lump of rock… Let’s hope Perseverance gets some good close ups and takes a sample on the off chance we will ever get it’s samples back to earth.

]]> By: Greg the Geologist https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1567844 Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:48:19 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1567844 Offgassing of dissolved volatiles (water vapor, CO2, etc) from volcanic rock at eruption often results in ‘bubbles’ of gas (vesicular basalt for example) and even ‘froth’ (pumice). Whether from a volcanic source or from melting of rock following an impact, it occurs to me that offgassing on Mars may result in larger or at least different ‘bubbles’ due to the much lower density of the martian atmosphere. Gas bubbles could expand more dramatically because of the greater pressure differential. Wild-looking rock in any case!

]]> By: AO1 https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1567841 Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:45:50 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1567841 Surely this warrants a drilling and one of those sample tubes?

]]> By: Blackwing1 https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/perseverance-spots-a-rock-made-of-many-tiny-spherules/#comment-1567788 Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:24:26 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=112996#comment-1567788 The individual nodules appear almost glassy, which would also lend itself to them being remnants of an impact into an area consisting mostly of silicon dioxide (sand).

Bear in mind that this is just me BS-ing about something I know next to nothing about (geology).

Is there anything analogous to this found in Earth geology?

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