“It looks like a magician’s wand” NASA’s probe finds twisted structures on Mars
The Curiosity probe has detected a strange rock formation on the surface of Mars that resembles a magician's wand with its twisting height from the surface.
NASA's Curiosity probe, which has been traveling across the Red Planet for nearly a decade, has seen the strange structures, which experts say they know are far less magical than we might think.
Twisting spiers of rock rise from the sand and shallow boulders of Gale Crater, and these sediments look like frozen streams of water flowing from an invisible jug in the sky.
According to experts from the SETI Institute (a non-profit research organization focused on the search for life in the universe), these twisted formations are simply pieces of rock.
In fact, these columns may have consisted of cement-like materials that filled ancient bedrock cracks in sedimentary rocks. As the softer rock gradually eroded, streams of cohesive material persisted.
"The rest of the rocks were made of a softer material and eroded," the experts added. However, this does not mean that it is not important.
Sedimentary rocks often contain fossils between their layers. This means that the observed structures may be hiding secrets about past organisms on Mars.
These strange rock formations were captured by a camera aboard Curiosity on May 17, but NASA and experts at the SETI Institute only shared the image last week, on May 26.
The photo shows two formations that look like twisted tree trunks and they seem to be very delicate. At the moment the exact size of these formations is unknown.
According to the latest mission update, released on May 31 by NASA, Curiosity is currently in Gale Crater, and the mission's stated goal is to search for traces of life and facilitate studies on the geological history of the Red Planet.
It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that strange shapes have been observed on the Red Planet, as last month, for example, space observers discovered a structure that resembles a secret entrance between the Martian rocks.
Source: The New York Post
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