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Did we just discover fossil evidence of life on Mars? Perhaps so -- in the
latest photos that the Martian rover "Opportunity" has sent back. These microscopic photos show that the rocks have a layered structure, probably formed with the aid of water (perhaps annual freeze thaw build up?) with small spherical nodes occasionally appearing in between the layers. See: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html . Could these small spheres be nodules, possibly enriched in iron (hematite), that were created by Martian bacteria eons ago? These may be analogous to the manganese nodules formed by bacteria on the floor of the ocean on Earth. JPL has a paper discussing this possibility at: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/...onf99/6133.pdf . NASA will understandably be conservative at making any sort of claims here, but I'm surprised that the media have not picked up on this idea yet. Steve Zweig |
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Do manganese nodules on earth have any tendency to split into two
near-exact hemispheres? The apparent fracture plane is one characteristic of these Martian spherical objects that most interests me, since it does not appear to fit easily with current suggested models for their formation. Rollo "Steve Zweig" wrote in message news:dWDWb.12056$uV3.30141@attbi_s51... Did we just discover fossil evidence of life on Mars? Perhaps so -- in the latest photos that the Martian rover "Opportunity" has sent back. These microscopic photos show that the rocks have a layered structure, probably formed with the aid of water (perhaps annual freeze thaw build up?) with small spherical nodes occasionally appearing in between the layers. See: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html . Could these small spheres be nodules, possibly enriched in iron (hematite), that were created by Martian bacteria eons ago? These may be analogous to the manganese nodules formed by bacteria on the floor of the ocean on Earth. JPL has a paper discussing this possibility at: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/...onf99/6133.pdf . NASA will understandably be conservative at making any sort of claims here, but I'm surprised that the media have not picked up on this idea yet. Steve Zweig |
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