| |
Mars
Under a Microscope
This magnified look at the martian
soil near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site,
Meridiani Planum, shows coarse grains sprinkled over a fine layer
of sand. The photo was captured on the 10th day, or sol, of the
rover's mission by its microscopic imager. Scientists are intrigued
by the spherical rocks, which can be formed by a variety of geologic
processes, including cooling of molten lava droplets and accretion
of concentric layers of material around a particle.
The examined patch of soil is
3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across. The circular grain in the
lower left corner is approximately 3 millimeters (.12 inches)
across, or about the size of a sunflower seed.
This stretched color composite
was obtained by merging images acquired with the orange-tinted
dust cover in both its open and closed positions. The varying
hints of orange suggest differences in mineral composition.
A smaller version
of this photo was included in the article:
Opportunity Sees Tiny Spheres in
Martian Soil - February 4, 2004
Contents copyright 2004 MarsLander.com -- Images courtesy
NASA/JPL/US Geological Survey
|
