107 replies to this topic

[bison]

I doubt that this object is a piece that fell off the Curiosity rover. First-- it doesn't appear to be in an area the rover has traveled over. There is rough terrain all around the object, and they seem to have the rover select the smoothest available path. It currently appears to be just below a linear feature made of largish, blocky rocks.  Second-- We've heard nothing from NASA to suggest that some metal part has fallen off the rover. In the past, when odd looking objects have turned up, it has quickly been suggested that the object is some bit of expendable plastic from the rover. Third-- The metallic-looking object does not appear to be in a stable configuration for an object that fell down onto the surface of Mars. It's top-heavy looking. It looks as if it should fall over. It presumably would have done, if it had fallen off of Curiosity.  I surmise that it's attached to something larger, buried beneath the surface, that serves to hold it in place.

Edited by bison, 10 February 2013 - 05:21 PM.

[DONTEATUS]

But when will someone tell us what it really is ?

[bison]

The stranger the true explanation for this object, the longer it will take for us to hear about it. Statements about anything they find on Mars are filtered through a set of scientific protocols. Scientists are not going to announce that they have discovered something  truly remarkable on Mars, without first taking time to check, recheck, and then check again their evidence and conclusions.
They tend to  mistrust 'remarkable' discoveries, and are afraid that, if they speak too soon, it may later be shown that they got carried away in their enthusiasm, and that a prosaic explanation is the correct one. What that could be, in this particular case, I can't see, but that scarcely proves that one will not be found.

[Zeta Reticulum]

DONTEATUS, on 10 February 2013 - 06:49 PM, said:

But when will someone tell us what it really is ?

They will either just ignore it, as they did with the "flower". Or say it is a "rock" as they did with the weathered plank of sawn wood which was photographed by one of the previous missions.

[CH32]

Sometimes...in situations like this, the most obvious answer is the only answer and is the correct answer............................ if you came across this same feature in any desert on Earth ( a featurless unworked piece of metal) you would assume (and probably correctly) that it was a piece of naturally occurring ore.
As much as I would like it be something else............. it probably does what it says on the tin !

[Ad hoc]

Zeta Reticulum, on 10 February 2013 - 11:41 PM, said:

They will either just ignore it, as they did with the "flower". Or say it is a "rock" as they did with the weathered plank of sawn wood which was photographed by one of the previous missions.

I understand that thing looked fascinating at first, but: layered rock. also bearing in mind how close it is to an impact crater which shook everything up. When I first looked at it, If anything I could imagine a semi-worked stone.
However the idea that some long lost civilization disappeared millions of years ago, and what was left over was one plank of wood on a rocky plateau- is pretty hard to believe.

Edited by ad hoc, 11 February 2013 - 12:34 AM.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Zeta Reticulum, on 10 February 2013 - 11:41 PM, said:

Or say it is a "rock" as they did with the weathered plank of sawn wood which was photographed by one of the previous missions.

Maybe that's because it is a rock.

NASA employs some of the best geologists and planetary scientists in the world. You, on the other hand, believe this:

Zeta Reticulum, on 06 January 2013 - 09:13 AM, said:

Mars is a wasteland... probably created by some type of nuclear holocaust. NASA will try to hide all the planks of wood, plastics etc that the rover photographs... to keep us all from absolute panic.

Anyone who believes that the things most likely to survive a nuclear holocaust are wood and plastics is someone whose opinion can not be taken seriously.

The reason NASA's views don't match yours is not because they are hiding the truth, it is because they actually know what they are talking about.

[Zeta Reticulum]

Waspie_Dwarf, on 11 February 2013 - 12:23 AM, said:

Anyone who believes that the things most likely to survive a nuclear holocaust are wood and plastics is someone whose opinion can not be taken seriously.

Not if the holocaust happened at the other side of the planet...


The reason NASA's views don't match yours is not because they are hiding the truth, it is because they actually know what they are talking about.

Mawhawhaw... I always get a big  giggle out of your um... waspishness

[Zeta Reticulum]

ad hoc, on 11 February 2013 - 12:19 AM, said:

I understand that thing looked fascinating at first, but: layered rock. also bearing in mind how close it is to an impact crater which shook everything up. When I first looked at it, If anything I could imagine a semi-worked stone.
However the idea that some long lost civilization disappeared millions of years ago, and what was left over was one plank of wood on a rocky plateau- is pretty hard to believe.

There has been found more than just a plank of wood. There is also a statue of what looks like a mermaid, lots and lots of various metal pieces of junk, arrows, shoes etc etc.
Remember, this planet had running rivers and streams, was within the goldilocks zone at that time, and was much warmer. Why is it so difficult for you to accept that perhaps there WAS a civilisation there.?
Is it because NASA hasnt told you this?

Edited by Zeta Reticulum, 11 February 2013 - 08:23 AM.

[Ad hoc]

Zeta Reticulum, on 11 February 2013 - 08:11 AM, said:

There has been found more than just a plank of wood. There is also a statue of what looks like a mermaid, lots and lots of various metal pieces of junk, arrows, shoes etc etc.
Remember, this planet had running rivers and streams, was within the goldilocks zone at that time, and was much warmer. Why is it so difficult for you to accept that perhaps there WAS a civilisation there.?
Is it because NASA hasnt told you this?

Maybe it's because every time I take a look at a new 'anomaly', it's so obviously not what you people desperately want it to be that I don't even need to hear Nasa's word on it.
I love the cartoonily surreal vision you have about what would be left lying around on the surface aeons after everything else from some mysterious alien civilization has turned to dust- arrows, shoes, and planks of wood.
Actually I don't think it's impossible that there was a civilization on mars, and I'd love it if signs showed up! But I'm not prepared to go into a fantasy world to feed my need for mystery and excitement around the matter.

[bison]

I doubt that the mysterious object on Mars is a fulgurite, as has been suggested here, and elsewhere. Fulgurites are tubular channels, formed when lightning penetrates underground and fuses sand into a glassy material. Granted, lightning, of a sort, is known on Mars, and fulgurites are sometimes exposed by the shifting of sand. It should be realized, though, that fulgurites consistently have rough, typically granular exteriors. The glassy part is inside, and between sand grains. I looked at hundreds of pictures of fulgurites on Google image to confirm this. I found no examples of conspicuous glass-like outer surfaces. The upper part of the object on Mars apparently has a very smooth surface, judging by the way it shines with reflected sunlight.

[Ad hoc]

bison, on 11 February 2013 - 03:17 PM, said:

I doubt that the mysterious object on Mars is a fulgurite, as has been suggested here, and elsewhere. Fulgurites are tubular channels, formed when lightning penetrates underground and fuses sand into a glassy material. Granted, lightning, of a sort, is known on Mars, and fulgurites are sometimes exposed by the shifting of sand. It should be realized, though, that fulgurites consistently have rough, typically granular exteriors. The glassy part is inside, and between sand grains. I looked at hundreds of pictures of fulgurites on Google image to confirm this. I found no examples of conspicuous glass-like outer surfaces. The upper part of the object on Mars apparently has a very smooth surface, judging by the way it shines with reflected sunlight.

yep. I have some fulgurites- the outside is all encrusted with embedded sand & rock grains, it's a bit like fried batter. it's only the inside that is shiny.

[Fallingpapa1]

As regards anything to do with extraterrestrial visitation or possible past civilizations on Mars the US government continues to contend that "it can't be true, so it isn't true".  NASA is part of the US government.  Expect them to adhere to the same principle and hide behind "science" in doing so.  We can't do anything about our government lying to us but we are fools if we think they don't.

[Astral Hillbilly]

To me, it looks like a piece of rebar torn or cut in half. The shiny ends are where the steel joined together. Yep, that's my guess.

[Esoteric Toad]

Piece of plastic from the Rover. There are winds on Mars.