by Guest | Apr 29, 2023 | Crossposts, Daily Paper Summaries
Title: Spectral Diversity of Rocks and Soils in Mastcam Observations Along the Curiosity Rover’s Traverse in Gale Crater, MarsAuthors: Melissa S. Rice, Christina Seeger, Jim Bell, et al.First Author’s Institution: Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USStatus: Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets [Open Access] This bite is cross-posted from our geology sister site, Geobites. The original post from February 9, 2023 can be found here. Emma HarrisI am a PhD researcher at the Natural History Museum and Imperial College London studying the geology of Mars from orbital imagery with a focus on Mars rover landing sites. In my spare time I like netball, horse riding, and listening to too much Taylor Swift. On the 28th January 2023 NASA’s MSL Curiosity rover team confirmed the rock ‘Cacao’ as an iron-nickle (Fe-Ni) meteorite on the surface of Mars. Curiosity captured images of a silvery-grey rock, very distinctive among the beige-red sedimentary landscape it is currently exploring. Cacao is a ‘float’ rock, meaning is it not embedded within the bedrock and is not where it formed. Float rocks are common on Mars, but many can be traced back to the upper ledges of slopes they have fallen from, or as ejecta from a nearby impact. Cacao has joined a special group of float rocks that are distinct in appearance, genetic composition, and origin.The MSL Curiosity team imaged and analysed the meteorite using MastCam cameras and ChemCam lasers in order to study the composition of the space rock. Although these particular results have not yet been published, similar Fe-Ni meteorites have been identified on the surface of Mars by...
by William Balmer | Apr 27, 2023 | Daily Paper Summaries
Could interactions between a magma ocean and early hydrogen rich atmosphere have created liquid water on Earth?
by Roel Lefever | Mar 1, 2023 | Daily Paper Summaries
After another planet slammed into young Earth, the Moon formed in Earth’s new ring, right? Right?… Well, time to challenge what you know about how the Moon came to be.
by Aldo Panfichi | Feb 27, 2023 | Daily Paper Summaries
In today’s paper, the authors analyze millimeter and submillimeter ALMA observations of a protoplanetary disk, and find kinematic signs of candidate companions within!
by Keighley Rockcliffe | Feb 10, 2023 | Daily Paper Summaries
One step closer to finding Earth2.0!
by Aldo Panfichi | Jan 4, 2023 | Daily Paper Summaries
In today’s paper, the authors take another look at the HD 45354 planetary system, and come to new conclusions about the orbit of the two gas giants within!