At 15:45:38 UTC the Mastcam Right has captured this rock with a very singular morphology!If you look closely at this rock, you will notice that it is formed by thin overlapping layers; it should be a sedimentary rock like many others already shown in this page, but this is not so!In fact, the common sedimentary rocks show themselves as slabs more or less eroded, but in this case you can see a very complex morphology with large cavities almost circular, almost hemispherical concavities, surface roughness anything but eroded and a beautiful long and thin spike.Does all this seem “normal”?What “geological” phenomenon could generate such complexity?Not to mention the color variations visible on the surrounding terrain; could those “chalky” greens really remain there for long periods without being swept away and/or covered by sandstorms?The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone a reduction in noise due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see.Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02674/mcam/2674MR0140140010804482C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 11:36:22 UTC the Mastcam Right has filmed a new excavation just made by the Curiosity drill.The excavation seems to be deep enough to have produced sufficient material for mineralogical analysis; the area had been previously “cleaned” by the rotating wire brush (DRT), leaving already a glimpse of the true turquoise color of the rock, which is also confirmed by the color of the excavated material.The original image has undergone a reduction in noise due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and chromatic saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02668/mcam/2668MR0139910020804312E01_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 13:43:07 UTC the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) imaged these very unique concatenated rock rings.The photo was taken from a distance of 7.59 cm with a definition of 0.034 mm/pixel, thus covering an area of 5.45 cm X 4.05 cm.The rock rings you are observing are roughly the diameter of the little finger of a woman’s hand!Looking at the nearest ring you can see an eccentric cavity a little less than half the diameter of the ring itself.Without the intervention of “something biological” I can’t imagine anything that would produce such a shape. From the way the three rings are arranged one after the other, they might suggest fossilized vertebrae complete with a medullary canal.Having said that though, I would like to remind you that the similarity of shape is not considered scientific proof and that my observations are simply personal impressions.So, if any geologists would kindly offer convincing alternative explanations, they will be welcome.To show colors more similar to what the human eye would see, I subjected the image to white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02666/mhli/2666MH0002970011001601C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 06:31:45 UTC the Mastcam Right captured this colorful ridge of layered rocks with a somewhat hazy blue sky and wonderful (water?) flows on the sand below.The situation is very similar to the previous post (see https://www.facebook.com/PianetaMarte.MdM/photos/a.1625578140858706/2695087970574379/) but with a more hazy sky. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to have at least two photos of the same area taken at different times; it would be very interesting to monitor these small RSLs over days and/or weeks!The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02663/mcam/2663MR0139550051104106C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 05:44:30 UTC the Mastcam Right captured this colorful ridge of stratified rocks with a clear blue sky and wonderful flows (of water?) on the sand below.I am sincerely ecstatic to observe closely these dark “flows” that look very similar to the famous RSL (acronym for Recurring Slope Lineae, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_flows_on_warm_Martian_slopes) but smaller.The variety of colors is truly amazing!Even with all the good will, I can not imagine anything but water leaking from under the rocks and promoting the formation of lichens or similar.The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02659/mcam/2659MR0139250151104005C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 08:39:44 UTC the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) captured a small “rock” suspended from the ground by a small “stalk”!The photo was taken from a distance of 7.42 cm with a definition of 0.034 mm/pixel, thus covering an area of 5.36 cm X 3.98 cm.The strange “rock” is visible in the lower left part of the original image and in the 3X enlargement in which I also lightened a bit the shaded part to improve the visibility of the “stalk”.The upper part, vaguely similar to the chapel of a mushroom, is no more than 3 mm wide while the “stem” does not exceed half a millimeter in diameter, with these dimensions should be extremely fragile.Not only I do not understand what geological phenomenon can generate such a thing, but I cannot even understand how something so fragile can remain intact!I warmly invite you to submit this image to anyone you think can give an interpretation with a minimum of knowledge of the cause.Personally, if it wasn’t Mars, I’d say it was definitely a mushroom!To show colors more similar to what the human eye would see, I subjected the image to white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02660/mhli/2660MH0001220011001294C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 09:06:48 UTC the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) captured this very close detail of a truly extraordinary rock!The photo was taken from a distance of only 3.83 cm with a definition of 0.021 mm/pixel, thus covering an area of 3.32 cm X 2.47 cm.Observing the spherules captured in this image, one is led to note the extraordinary similarities with terrestrial ooids. In fact, some of these spherules are broken and / or perforated and clearly show a structure of concentric shells with a central cavity, in the right margin of the image you can also see the ooids from the curious appearance of “pitted olive”!Ooids are small spheroidal “coated” sedimentary grains, usually composed of calcium carbonate, but sometimes composed of iron or phosphate minerals. Ooids usually form on the sea floor, most commonly in shallow tropical seas (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooid). To show colors more similar to what the human eye would see, I subjected the image to white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02660/mhli/2660MH0003370011001319C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 23:59:34 UTC the Mastcam Right captured these beautiful “green mountains”, actually the inner rim of the Gale crater.The sky on the horizon appears cloudy in this photo as well, except for a glimpse of blue sky visible in the upper right corner of the image.Personally, I can’t stop staring at the green areas; such a shade of green hasn’t been observed in a while!The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02657/mcam/2657MR0139020101103742C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 21:17:11 UTC Mastcam Left took this nice overview of the long cloud formation on the horizon already partially shown in the previous post (see https://www.facebook.com/PianetaMarte.MdM/photos/a.1625578140858706/2683478418402001/). This photo frames a field of about 90° in width, or about a quarter of the entire horizon.It is evident that in reality Mars is not as arid as one would normally be led to believe!The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing”. In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02654/mcam/2654ML0138710231001446C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.

At 21:17:28 UTC Mastcam Right captured this beautiful ridge of blue rocks, with a red ridge in the distance and a clear blue sky interrupted by a long white cloud on the horizon.In the red ridge in the background, the lower left part of the photo, you can see several dark “flows” that look a lot like the famous RSLs (acronym for Recurring Slope Lineae, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_flows_on_warm_Martian_slopes) but smaller.The white cloud on the horizon is also a clear indication that the humidity is rising with increasing temperature, thus leading to the formation of clouds of water ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.The original image is a black and white encoding of the Bayer mask that has been converted to color through a process called “debayering” or “demosaicing.” In addition, the photo has undergone noise reduction due to Jpeg compression, white balance and a slight increase in microcontrast and color saturation in order to make the colors more similar to what the human eye would see. Original image: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/02654/mcam/2654MR0138710241103600C00_DXXX.jpg This post has been automatically translated. See the original post here.