[meteorite-list] Re: Mars Rocks: The Look

From: Sterling K. Webb <kelly_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:10 2004
Message-ID: <3BBE570D.54933772_at_bhil.com>

Hi, All,

    Craig said, "Remember, actually we've never really SEEN a
Mars rock "in person", so we don't really know what they look
like." Well, OK, we didn't get to thump them with a rock hammer,
true, but what about MARS PATHFINDER? (Or Viking, for that
matter?)

    How soon they forget... Yogi, Ren & Stimpy, the Rock Garden,
The Mini-Matterhorn, Spock, Piglet, Barnacle Bill, the Couch? The
red is dust. The rocks are only red on the upwind side. Downwind,
they look like... rocks. Black mostly, basaltic, vesciular,
pretty much like lava anywhere.

    It pretty reasonable to assume that any impact that would
blast a rock right off its home planet would dust it off pretty
good, too. Hell of a way to houseclean. For polishing, the entry
through the Earth's atmosphere is sufficient.

    Seriously, though, we've only "seen" these few spots on a
planet with a LAND area roughly equal to Earth's. How much could
you say about Earth's geology if you'd only been allowed to look
closely at three backyards?


Sterling K. Webb
Received on Fri 05 Oct 2001 08:57:49 PM PDT