Articles

Articles
From the Nov / Dec, 2008 PGMC 'Gem'

Californosaurus
Californosaurus perrini ('Perrin's California lizard') was an ichthyosaur, an extinct fish-like marine reptile, from the Lower Hosselkus Limestone (Carnian, Late Triassic) of California. It has also been known as Shastasaurus perrini and Delphinosaurus ('dolphin lizard') perrini. It is the basal-most known true icthyosaur (Euichthyosauria).

The long-snouted head is small in comparison with the rest of the body, as in basal ichthyosaurs such as Mixosaurus and Cymbospondylus. The tail is sharply turned downwards, in common with more advanced ichthyosaurs, with a small vertical fluke. It may have had a small dorsal fin. There is a small number of pre-sacral vertebrae (45 or 50). The phalanges (digit bones) are circular and widely spaced, giving the flipper a round appearance. It was 3 metres long.

It fed on fish and other small marine creatures. Like other ichthyosaurs it probably never ventured onto dry land, and gave birth in the water.

Californosaurus

Fossil range:    Late Triassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:     Chordata
Class:     Sauropsida
Subclass:     Diapsida
Order:           Ichthyopterygia
Suborder:    Shastasauria
Family:       Teretochemidae
Genus: Californosaurus
Kuhn, 1934
Species * C. perrini

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californosaurus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giant Crystal Cave's Mystery Solved
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
April 9, 2007

Geologist Juan Manuel García-Ruiz calls it "the Sistine Chapel of crystals," but Superman could call it home.

A sort of south-of-the-border Fortress of Solitude, Mexico's Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) contains some of the world's largest known natural crystals—translucent beams of gypsum as long as 36 feet (11 meters).

How did the crystals reach such superheroic proportions?

In the new issue of the journal Geology, García-Ruiz reports that for millennia the crystals thrived in the cave's extremely rare and stable natural environment. Temperatures hovered consistently around a steamy 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius), and the cave was filled with mineral-rich water that drove the crystals' growth.

Modern-day mining operations exposed the natural wonder by pumping water out of the 30-by-90-foot (10-by-30-meter) cave, which was found in 2000 near the town of Delicias (Chihuahua state map). Now García-Ruiz is advising the mining company to preserve the caves.

Giant Crystal Cave

"There is no other place on the planet," García-Ruiz said, "where the mineral world reveals itself in such beauty."

Deep inside Naica mountain, the Cave of Crystals is a horseshoe-shaped cavity in limestone rock about 30 feet (10 meters) wide and 90 feet (30 meters) long.

Volcanic activity that began about 26 million years ago created Naica mountain and filled it with high-temperature anhydrite gypsum (giant shards of which are pictured above).

When magma underneath the mountain cooled and the temperature dropped, the anhydrite began to dissolve. The anhydrite slowly enriched the waters with sulfate and calcium molecules, which for millions of years have been deposited in the caves in the form of huge selenite gypsum crystals.

"There is no limit to the size a crystal can reach," geologist Juan Manue García-Ruiz said.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleries/giant-crystals-cave/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natural topaz Topaz: Birthstone for November

    * Chemistry: Al 2 SiO 4 (F, OH) 3, Aluminum silicate fluoride hydroxide.
    * Class: Silicates
    * Subclass: Nesosilicates
    * Uses: gemstones and optical properties are useful in industry.

Topaz is a common gemstone that has been used for centuries in jewelry. Its golden brown to yellow color is classic but is confused with the less valuable citrine, which is sold under the name topaz. The blue topaz that is often confused with aquamarine is rarely natural and is produced by irradiating and then heating clear crystals. Topaz is the November Birthstone.

The structure of Topaz is controlled by a chain like structure of connected irregular octahedrons. These octahedrons have an aluminum in the middle surrounded by four oxygens. Above and below the aluminum are the hydroxide or fluoride ions. The chains of octahedrons are held together by individual silicate tetrahedrons but it is the octahedron chains that give topaz its crystalline shape. Topaz is the hardest silicate mineral and one of the hardest minerals in nature. However it has a perfect cleavage which is perpendicular to the chains and is caused by planes that break the weaker Al-O, Al-OH and Al-F bonds. None of the stronger Si-O bonds cross these planes. Topaz crystals can reach incredible size of several houndred pounds. Topaz can make very attractive mineral specimens due to their high luster, nice colors and well formed and multifaceted crystals.

faceted topaz

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

    * Color is clear, yellow, orange, red, blue and green.
    * Luster is adamantine to vitreous.
    * Transparency crystals are transparent to translucent.
    * Crystal System is orthorhombic; 2/m 2/m 2/m
    * Crystal Habits include a prismatic crystal with usually two different prisms that produce a rounded or sharp diamond-shaped cross-section. The termination is typically capped by a dome forming a roof like top. Another dome can modify the termination producing a point at the juncture of the two domes. A basal pinacoid can flatten the prisms termination or truncate the top of the domes. The pinacoid, multiple domes and occassionally orthorhombic pyramid faces can produce a complex, multifaceted and well formed termination. Topaz can be granular and massive.
    * Cleavage is perfect in one direction, basal.
    * Fracture is conchoidal.
    * Hardness is 8.
    * Specific Gravity is approximately 3.4 - 3.5+ (above average)
    * Streak is white.
    * Associated Minerals include quartz, tourmalines, micas, brookite, cassiterite and fluorite.
    * Other Characteristics: index of refraction is 1.61 - 1.64. Prism faces maybe striated lengthwise.
    * Notable Occurrences include Minas Gerias, Brazil; Pakistan; San Diego Co, California; Ural Mountains, Russia; Mexico and the Thomas Range, Utah.
    * Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, color, density and hardness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tanzanite: Birthstone for December

Tanzanite is relatively new on the gemstone market, but has left its mark. Its blue-lavender color is rather unique and a wonderful addition to the gemstone palette. Found in Tanzania (hence the name) in 1967, it has since become a well known and widely distributed gemstone. It has become so popular that in October of 2002 the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) announced that tanzanite had joined zircon and turquoise in the traditional list of birthstones for the month of December.

It has better fire than the tourmaline elbaite or peridot and an adequate hardness. Its only one direction of cleavage is somewhat of a problem because it is oriented with the direction of strongest pleochroism. This would be a problem in most gemstones because that is the direction the gemcutter would usually select to maximize the color. However, with tanzanite the color is usually strong enough anyway.

Faceted tanzanite

Pleochroism is very pronounced in tanzanite and is seen as three different color shades in the same stone. In the viewing a tanzanite stone, the colors dark blue, green-yellow and red-purple can be seen, all a result of pleochroism. Lesser stones may have a brownish color due to the mixing of blue, purple and green. These stones are usually heat treated to a deep blue color. Iolite is a blue-violet gemstone variety of the mineral cordierite, has strong pleochroism and can be confused with tanzanite. However, iolite is usually less strongly colored, its pleochroic colors vary from blue-violet to yellowish gray to blue and it has less fire. Iolite's unusual color shades makes it an exotic colored gemstone whose popularity is growing day by day.

Nearly all tanzanite has been heat treated to generate the beautiful violet-blue color this stone is known for. When first mined, most stones are a muted green color. The only known source of Tanzanite is a five square mile hilltop at Merelani, ten miles south of the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.

Tanzanite is the gem variety of the mineral Zoisite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meteorites

A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. While in space it is called a meteoroid. When it enters the atmosphere, impact pressure causes the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting star. The term bolide refers to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ultimately impacts the surface.

More generally, a meteorite on the surface of any celestial body is a natural object that has come from elsewhere in space. Meteorites have been found on the Moonand Mars.

Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transited the atmosphere or impacted the Earth are called falls. All other meteorites are known as finds. As of mid-2006, there are approximately 1,050 witnessed falls having specimens in the world's collections. In contrast, there are over 31,000 well-documented meteorite finds.

meteorite iron crystals

Meteorites are always named for the place where they were found,[5] usually a nearby town or geographic feature. One notable exception is Barringer Crater (commonly referred to as Meteor Crater) in Arizona which is named after a man who posited that it was formed in an impact with an extraterrestrial object. In cases where many meteorites were found in one place, the name may be followed by a number or letter (e.g., Allan Hills 84001 or Dimmitt. Some meteorites have informal nicknames: the Sylacauga meteorite is sometimes called the "Hodges meteorite" after Ann Hodges, the woman who was struck by it; the Canyon Diablo meteorite, which formed Meteor Crater has dozens of these aliases. However, the single, official name designated by the Meteoritical Society is used by scientists, catalogers, and most collectors.

Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites are largely composed of metallic iron-nickel; and, stony-iron meteorites contain large amounts of both metallic and rocky material. Modern classification schemes divide meteorites into groups according to their structure, chemical and isotopic composition and mineralogy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minerals from Another World
Follow the lastest discoveries from NASA, as Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity continue to explore, experiment and send back images from Mars.These rugged Rovers were expected to last about 3 months on the hostile Red Planet, before their batteries gave out and they fell silent. At the time of this writing, they have far exceeded expectations and have been exploring and sending data for over a year. I will continue to add these wonderful pictures as long as they keep coming.
Large Image of the Red Planet _ Mars Wallpaper: 800 x 600 __1024 x 768

Recent highlights:

7/20/07		Dust Storm Time Lapse Shows Opportunity's Skies Darken NASA's Opportunity rover is literally seeing some of its darkest days. Both Mars Exploration Rovers have been riding out a regional dust storm for several weeks. Conditions became particularly dreary in the Meridiani Planum region where Opportunity sits, perched on the edge of "Victoria Crater." Read more
2/5/07		Spirit's Winter Panorama (Labeled) Since April of 2006, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been sojourning in a place called "Winter Haven," where the robotic geologist spent several months parked on a north-facing slope in order to keep its solar panels pointed toward the sun...Read More
8/7/06		Opportunity Approaches the Bowl of Beagle Crater: NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired this false-color image of the rim of the 35-meter (115-foot) diameter Beagle Crater on Martian day, or sol, 894 (July 30, 2006) using the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. At the time the rover was about 25 meters (82 feet) from Beagle Crater, looking east-southeast. Read More
5/5/06		Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder: As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. The boulder sits about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall on Martian sand about 5 meters (16 feet) away from Spirit. It is one of many dark, volcanic rock fragments -- many pocked with rounded holes called vesicles -- littering the slope of "Low Ridge." Read More
3/27/06		Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home Plate': For the past several weeks, Spirit has been examining spectacular layered rocks exposed at "Home Plate." The rover has been driving around the northern and eastern edges of Home Plate, on the way to "McCool Hill." Before departing, Spirit took this image showing some of the most complex layering patterns seen so far at this location. Read More....
2/17/06		Revealing Roosevelt: This image mosaic from the microscopic imager aboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows detailed structure of a small fin-like structure dubbed "Roosevelt," which sticks out from the outcrop pavement at the edge of "Erebus Crater." Read More.
2/17/06		Spirit Hits a Home Run: This week, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit arrived at "Home Plate," a feature that, when seen from orbit, looks like the home plate of a baseball diamond. Home Plate is a roughly circular feature about 80 meters (260 feet) in diameter that might be an old impact crater or volcanic feature. Read More.
1/20/06		Salty Expression (False Color) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit spent the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend analyzing a remarkable exposure of bright, loose material. Spirit discovered the material while driving toward "Home Plate" along the floor of the basin south of "Husband Hill" in Gusev Crater. These images from Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) show some of the most colorful deposits yet photographed on the surface of Mars. Read More
9/9/05		Two Moons Passing in the Night: Taking advantage of extra solar energy collected during the day, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit settled in for an evening of stargazing, photographing the two moons of Mars as they crossed the night sky. "It is incredibly cool to be running an observatory on another planet," said planetary scientist Jim Bell of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., lead scientist for the panoramic cameras on Spirit and Opportunity. Read More
9/1/05		Rind-Like Features at a Meridiani Outcrop: After months spent crossing a sea of rippled sands, Opportunity reached an outcrop in August 2005 and began investigating exposures of sedimentary rocks, intriguing rind-like features that appear to cap the rocks, and cobbles that dot the martian surface locally. Read More
6/10/05		A Moment Frozen in Time: On May 19th, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th martian day, or sol. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol's data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset. Read more... Mars Sunset Wallpaper: 800x600 or 1024x768
4/29/05		'Lookout Panorama' from Spirit: This is the Spirit panoramic camera's "Lookout" panorama, acquired on the rover's 410th to 413th martian days, or sols (Feb. 27 to Mar. 2, 2005). The view is from a position known informally as "Larry's Lookout" along the drive up "Husband Hill." Read More 224K Image
4/21/05		Movie Clip Shows Whirlwinds Carrying Dust on Mars: This movie clip shows a dust devil scooting across a plain inside Gusev Crater on Mars as seen from the NASA rover Spirit's hillside vantage point during the rover's 456th martian day, or sol (April 15, 2005). The individual images were taken about 20 seconds apart by Spirit's navigation camera. Read More
4/11/05		Scientists Contemplate Tilting of Rock Layers on Mars: Gazing across the landscape of the "Columbia Hills" in Gusev Crater on Mars, scientists think they have been seeing hints of tilted rock layers across the area traversed by the rover...One possible explanation for these ridges is that they were formed by tilted layers of sediment that were more resistant to erosion and now stand in relief above the surrounding surface...Read More
2/4/05		Still Giving Thanks for Good Health: NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this full-circle panorama of the region near "Husband Hill" (the peak just to the left of center) over the Thanksgiving holiday, before ascending farther. Both the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are still going strong, more than a year after landing on Mars. Read More 360° animated view. (File Size: 6.9 mb; Quicktime: Download plugin)
1/19/05		Iron Meteorite on Mars: NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found an iron meteorite on Mars, the first meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted, basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel. Readings from spectrometers on the rover determined that composition. Read More
11/4/04		Spirit Adds Clues About History of Rocks in Martian Hills Full Press Release Layers in 'Tetl': NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has examined the layered structure of this rock, called "Tetl," in the "Columbia Hills." This approximately true-color view was made from frames taken by Spirit's panoramic camera on the rover's 264th martian day....Read More
10/7/04		'Escher' Rock: This false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock dubbed "Escher" on the southwestern slopes of "Endurance Crater." Scientists believe the rock's fractures, which divide the surface into polygons, may have been formed by one of several processes...Read More
8/6/04		"Endurance Crater's" Dazzling Dunes: (false-color): As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity creeps farther into "Endurance Crater," the dune field on the crater floor appears even more dramatic. This false-color image taken by the rover's panoramic camera shows that the dune crests have accumulated more dust than the flanks of the dunes and the flat surfaces between them. Read More
7/16/04		Chlorine Goes Deep: This image taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the layers of bedrock that line the walls of "Endurance Crater." Opportunity has been inching down the crater walls, investigating distinct layers of rock for clues to Mars' buried past. The various layers are labeled here as "A" through "F." Targets within these layers, including millstone, are also indicated.Read More
6/25/04		'Endurance' Tells Story of Mars' History: This false-color image shows the area inside "Endurance Crater" that the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been examining. The rover is currently investigating the distinct layers of rock that make up this region. Each layer is defined by subtle color and texture variations and represents a separate chapter in Mars' history. Read More
6/15/04		'Tennessee' Clues: This false-color image shows the area within "Endurance Crater," currently being investigated by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover is inspecting a hole it drilled into a flat rock (center) dubbed "Tennessee," which scientists believe may be made up of the same evaporite-rich materials as those found in "Eagle Crater." Read More
6/15/04		Crater of Clues: This 360-degree panorama shows "Endurance Crater" and the surrounding plains of Meridiani Planum. This is the second large panoramic camera mosaic of Endurance, and was obtained from a high point near the crater's south rim. Read More Large Panoramic Image
6/2/04		The Colors of "Endurance": This false-color image shows visible mineral changes between the materials that make up the rim of the impact crater known as "Endurance." The image was taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity using all 13 color filters. The cyan blue color denotes basalts, whereas the dark green color denotes a mixture of iron oxide and basaltic materials. Reds and yellows indicate dusty material containing sulfates. Read More
4/15/04		Mars Rover Finds Rock Resembling Meteorites That Fell to Earth: NASA's Opportunity rover has examined an odd volcanic rock on the plains of Mars' Meridiani Planum region with a composition unlike anything seen on Mars before, but scientists have found similarities to meteorites that fell to Earth. Read More
4/15/04		Smooth Side of 'Route 66': This image was taken by the microscopic imager onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 99 (April 13, 2004). It is a close-up look at a portion of the rock called "Route 66," which was brushed by the rover's rock abrasion tool. This image intrigues scientists because it looks very different from the microscopic images taken of other brushed rocks at the Gusev Crater location. Read More
4/1/04		Spirit Finds Multi-Layer Hints of Past Water at Mars' Gusev Site: Clues from a wind-scalloped volcanic rock on Mars investigated by NASA's Spirit rover suggest repeated possible exposures to water inside Gusev Crater, scientists said Thursday. Gusev is halfway around the planet from the Meridiani region where Spirit's twin, Opportunity, recently found evidence that water used to flow across the surface. Read More
3/23/04		Standing Body of Water Left Its Mark in Mars Rocks: NASA's Opportunity rover has demonstrated some rocks on Mars probably formed as deposits at the bottom of a body of gently flowing saltwater. "We think Opportunity is parked on what was once the shoreline of a salty sea on Mars," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University...Read More
3/18/04		Spirit's Destination (panorama): This panoramic image mosaic from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera, shows the rover's destination toward the hills nicknamed the "Columbia Hills," on the right. The rover's heatshield can be seen on the left as a tiny bright dot in the distance, just under the horizon. Dark drift material can be seen in the image center. Read More Large Panoramic Image
3/18/04		Mineral in Mars 'Berries' Adds to Water Story: A major ingredient in small mineral spheres analyzed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity furthers understanding of past water at Opportunity's landing site and points to a way of determining whether the vast plains surrounding the site also have a wet history. Read More
3/18/04		A Bowl of Hematite-Rich 'Berries': This graph shows two spectra, or light signatures, of outcrop regions near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site. The blue line shows data for a region dubbed "Berry Bowl," which contains a handful of the sphere-like grains dubbed "blueberries." Read More
3/2/04		The Texture of El Capitan: This image, taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, shows a close up of the rock dubbed "El Capitan," located in the rock outcrop at Meridiani Planum, Mars. This image shows fine, parallel lamination in the upper area of the rock, which also contains scattered sphere-shaped objects ranging from 1 to 2 millimeters (.04 to .08 inches) in size. Read More
3/11/04		The Minerals at 'El Capitan': The white curve in this image shows the spectrum, or light signature, of a region of rock outcrop dubbed "El Capitan" near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site. The data were taken by rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer instrument, located on its panoramic camera mast assembly. Read More
3/2/04		Opportunity Rover Finds Strong Evidence Meridiani Planum Was Wet: Scientists have concluded the part of Mars that NASA's Opportunity rover is exploring was soaking wet in the past. Evidence the rover found in a rock outcrop led scientists to the conclusion. Clues from the rocks' composition, such as the presence of sulfates, and the rocks' physical appearance, such as niches where crystals grew, helped make the case for a watery history. Read More
3/2/04		Mineral Tells Tale of Watery Past: This spectrum, taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's Moessbauer spectrometer, shows the presence of an iron-bearing mineral called jarosite in the collection of rocks dubbed "El Capitan." "El Capitan" is located within the rock outcrop that lines the inner edge of the small crater where Opportunity landed. The pair of yellow peaks specifically indicates a jarosite phase, which contains water in the form of hydroxyl as a part of its structure. Read More
2/20/04		Plotting and Scheming: This graphic is a planning tool used by Mars Exploration Rover engineers to plot and scheme the perfect location to place the rock abrasion tool on the rock collection dubbed "El Capitan" near Opportunity's landing site. "El Capitan" is located within a larger outcrop nicknamed "Opportunity Ledge." Read More
2/19/04		Opportunity Examines Trench As Spirit Prepares To Dig One: By inspecting the sides and floor of a hole it dug on Mars, NASA's Opportunity rover is finding some things it did not see beforehand, including round pebbles that are shiny and soil so fine-grained that the rover's microscope can't make out individual particles. Read More
2/13/04		Flaky "Mimi": This color image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera on Sol 40 is centered on an unusually flaky rock called Mimi. Mimi is only one of many features in the area known as "Stone Council," but looks very different from any rock that scientists have seen at the Gusev crater site so far. Read More
2/9/04		Mars Rock Formation Poses Mystery: This sharp, close-up image taken by the microscopic imager on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's instrument deployment device, or "arm," shows a rock target dubbed "Robert E," located on the rock outcrop at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Read More
2/4/04		Thar be Hematite!: This map of a portion of the small crater currently encircling the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows where crystalline hematite resides. Red and orange patches indicate high levels of the iron-bearing mineral, while blue and green denote low levels. Read More The Lure of Hematite ~ NASA Science 3/28/01 Why Hematite? ~ NASA 2/14/04
2/4/04		Mars Under the Microscope: This magnified look at the martian soil near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site, Meridiani Planum, shows coarse grains sprinkled over a fine layer of sand. Read More..
1/28/04		A Geologist's Treasure Trove: This high-resolution image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera highlights the puzzling rock outcropping that scientists are eagerly planning to investigate. Presently, Opportunity is on its lander facing northeast; the outcropping lies to the northwest. Read More Large Panoramic Image
1/20/04		The Mystery Soil: This high-resolution image from the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the region containing the patch of soil scientists examined at Gusev Crater just after Spirit rolled off the Columbia Memorial Station. Scientists examined this patch on the 13th and 15th martian days, or sols, of Spirit's journey. Read More
1/13/04		In the Far East: In the distance stand the east hills, which are closest to the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in comparison to other hill ranges seen on the martian horizon. The top of the east hills are approximately 2 to 3 kilometers (1 to 2 miles) away from the rover's approximate location. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera. Read More Large Panoramic Image
1/12/04		Mars in Full View: This is a medium-resolution version of the first 360-degree panoramic view of the martian surface, taken on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera. Part of the spacecraft can be seen in the lower corner regions. Read More Large Panoramic Image

Want to know more about it? Order PGMC Library Books Online

Home * Events * Shows * Pictures * Articles * Library List

contact:michelle@goldnuggetwebs.com