Space junkies try to explain mysterious image in photo from Mars rover

By Ron Recinto

A mysterious blotch that appeared along the horizon in a photo from the surface of Mars stirred speculation about what it might be, as two hours later it was gone.

One image from the Curiosity rover as it landed on the fourth planet from the sun showed a “faint but distinctive” image on the horizon, the Los Angeles Times reported. However, a subsequent batch of images sent from the unmanned rover two hours later showed no trace of the blotch.

One theory put forth by space enthusiasts in the L.A. Times story is that Curiosity had somehow snapped a photo of part of the spacecraft that escorted the rover through the Martian atmosphere crash-landing a distance away.

But to capture that image “would be an insane coincidence,” one engineer told the newspaper.

Others say more feasible possibilities would be simply dirt on the lens, or maybe a dust devil twisting far in the distance.

But as more images start to pour into NASA, more is being learned about the rover’s pinpoint landing.

In what some are dubbing the “crime scene” photo of the landing zone taken by another satellite, Curiosity is seen on the ground along with pieces of the spacecraft that broke apart as planned on the way to the surface. The photo reveals the heat shield that protected the rover as it entered the atmosphere and the parachute that helped ease the vehicle onto Mars. Also seen are parts of the “sky crane,” the spacecraft that carried the rover to the planet, the article noted.

Could the sky crane crashing be the blotch? From another L.A. Times story:

The crime scene photo showed that the sky crane had crash-landed, as designed, about 2,000 feet away—and in the same direction that Curiosity’s camera was pointed when it snapped the first photo showing the blotch. The new satellite photo also showed that the sky crane, when it crash-landed, kicked up a violent wave of dirt that had scarred the surface of Mars.

Curiosity mission manager Michael Watkins told the Times if it were the case, “it would be incredibly cool. … A crazy, serendipitous thing.”

Images from Mars have always fueled curiosity.

Remember what folks thought was a huge face on Mars? An image from Viking 1 in 1976 that appeared to show a rock formation with eyes, a nose and a mouth? Later high-resolution imaging and side-by-side analysis proved the “face” to be a mesa, like the flat-topped natural formations found in the southwestern U.S.

0 comments

Comments:

Add your comment

Nickname:

E-mail:

Website:

Comment:

Other articlesgo to homepage

	Asteroid 9 times size of ocean liner approaches Earth(0) The 1998 QE2 asteroid has the physical mass to potentially deliver life on Earth a knockout punch, being 2.7km in length. It is to buzz our planet on May 31, aweing the stargazing community. Officially known as Asteroid 1998 QE2, the ‘minor planet’, as astronomers refer to these space objects, is about nine times the

	Experimental Effect of Wireless signals..(0) Here is the basis for the experiment : Take 400 Karsefrø and group them into 12 bins. Then place the six trays in two rooms at the same temperature. Give treys same amount of water and sun over 12 days, and remember to expose half of them to mobile radiation. Six trays of seeds were

	Successful embryo stem cell cloning draws moral fire(0) A new landmark stem cell technique in therapeutic cloning opens new horizons in treating rare diseases and disorders caused by gene mutations. Yet, like any kind of human cloning, the research has sparked controversy on either side of the Atlantic. A decade-long effort of geneticists worldwide has finally been crowned with success. On May 15,

	Sunspot Blasting Out Major Solar Flares Will Face Earth Soon(0) by Mike Wall The super-active sunspot responsible for unleashing the three most powerful solar flares of 2013 within a 24-hour stretch this week is slowly rotating toward Earth and will likely be facing our planet by the weekend, experts say. Active Region 1748, as the sunspot is known, unleashed three monster solar flares between Sunday

	Watch a continent-sized hurricane whip around Saturn’s north pole(0) Scientists have gotten their first close-up view of the enormous hurricane that has been churning for years at the North Pole of our solar system’s ringed beauty Saturn. The whirlwind sits at the center of a large and mysterious structure known as Saturn’s hexagon, a polygon-shaped stream whose each side is larger than the entire

Contacts and information

USAHM News has been censored twice before.. We provide citizens with alternative news that the MSM doesnt cover.. Dont become brainwashed by all the lies and propaganda! Join the fight against the NWO.. Contact us if you would like to become a writer for our website. Remember if you dont stand up for your rights, who will?