In the Land of the Polygons on Mars

5 hours ago

Curiosity explores a light-toned unit with polygonal structures resembling a giant Martian honeycomb.
Dark-toned pebbles and cobbles litter the area; their origin is uncertain and may include meteorites (some containing nickel).
Monday's plan included APXS and MAHLI on polygons, ChemCam RMI and LIBS measurements, and environmental observations.
After further driving, Friday's plan targeted a dark cobble named 'Cortadera' and polygon ridges, with Mastcam mosaics of surrounding features.
Next week, Curiosity will cross into a darker-toned, rougher-textured band visible from orbit.

The Australian Space Agency identified the likely source of mysterious space balls found on Forrest Beach in northern Queensland as pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle.
A 50-meter exclusion zone was established, and the public was warned not to touch any suspicious objects due to potential hazardous substances, with emergency services called for any encounters.
Crews in protective suits placed the spheres in hazmat barrels under police guard amid concerns they might contain flammable or reactive materials like residual propellant.

NASA's Curiosity rover, deployed on Mars in 2012, continues to send back photos, including recent images of striking honeycomb patterns in the Martian regolith.
Curiosity previously discovered hexagonal mud cracks in Gale Crater, providing evidence of persistent wet-dry cycles on ancient Mars.
These wet-dry cycles may have enabled prebiotic polymerization, helping form the building blocks of life, such as protein chains.

Explains Raman scattering: photons lose energy when reflecting off surfaces, causing wavelength shifts that identify molecules.
Describes CubeRaman: a DIY, 3D-printed spectrometer using a 532 nm laser, filters, and kinematic mounts with magnets.
Highlights tests: raw diamond showed expected shift; ethanol and glass bottle tests revealed challenges with stray signals.

Arp 905 days ago

Arp 90 consists of two interacting galaxies in the east.
A weird distorted galaxy to the west may be a tidal fragment or gravitationally bound irregular galaxy.
Total exposure time was 2.6 hours, with 2.3 hours used in stack.

NGC 7497 is a spiral galaxy, but the nebula in the image is actually closer than the galaxy.
The nebula is an Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN), located far from the Milky Way and lacking a central star; it is illuminated by the combined light of the Milky Way.
The IFN has an unusually low surface brightness, with the brightest region at 26th mag/arcsec².

The Australian Space Agency identified the likely source of mysterious space balls found on Forrest Beach in northern Queensland as pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle.
A 50-meter exclusion zone was established, and the public was warned not to touch any suspicious objects due to potential hazardous substances, with emergency services called for any encounters.
Crews in protective suits placed the spheres in hazmat barrels under police guard amid concerns they might contain flammable or reactive materials like residual propellant.

NASA's Curiosity rover, deployed on Mars in 2012, continues to send back photos, including recent images of striking honeycomb patterns in the Martian regolith.
Curiosity previously discovered hexagonal mud cracks in Gale Crater, providing evidence of persistent wet-dry cycles on ancient Mars.
These wet-dry cycles may have enabled prebiotic polymerization, helping form the building blocks of life, such as protein chains.

Explains Raman scattering: photons lose energy when reflecting off surfaces, causing wavelength shifts that identify molecules.
Describes CubeRaman: a DIY, 3D-printed spectrometer using a 532 nm laser, filters, and kinematic mounts with magnets.
Highlights tests: raw diamond showed expected shift; ethanol and glass bottle tests revealed challenges with stray signals.

Arp 905 days ago

Arp 90 consists of two interacting galaxies in the east.
A weird distorted galaxy to the west may be a tidal fragment or gravitationally bound irregular galaxy.
Total exposure time was 2.6 hours, with 2.3 hours used in stack.

NGC 7497 is a spiral galaxy, but the nebula in the image is actually closer than the galaxy.
The nebula is an Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN), located far from the Milky Way and lacking a central star; it is illuminated by the combined light of the Milky Way.
The IFN has an unusually low surface brightness, with the brightest region at 26th mag/arcsec².

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