"Fire Stranger" Pyroxene and Young Martian Clay

       Pyroxenes are isosilicates which are one of the most common constituents of the lithosphere of earth. They are also prominent minerals in the uplifted rocks on Mars.

       The name pyroxene comes from the Greek words for fire (πυρ) and stranger (ξένος). Pyroxenes were so named because of their presence in lavas, where they are sometimes present as crystals in volcanic glass. It was originally assumed they were impurities in the glass, hence the name "fire strangers". However, they are merely early-forming minerals that crystallized before the lava erupted.

      The most recent data from Mars show that clay found at impact sites near uplifted pyroxene uplifts is believed to be clay-rich impact melt material (i. e. authigenic), rather than clay pulled to the surface by impacts. This authigenic clay is now dated at 2 billion years or less rather than 3.7 billion years, as previously thought.

Brown University geologists, not affiliated with Coffee ;-), describe their research in a press release yesterday.

And, interestingly a hexagonal pattern shows up in craters on Mars as well:

     Mars and earth seem more and more similar every day. . .

       I am taking a Wild Clay painting class next month with a friend's brother here in Colorado. It may come in especially handy, if I ever go to Mars to check out the melted, wild, young clay.

Ka-O, don't be a fire stranger,
Steph

Bonus: Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, CO, with 70 lanterns, December 2015

If Only We Had Taller Been: New Horizons Makes the 3 Billion Mile Trip Past Pluto

       The startlingly clear images of dwarf planet Pluto's surface have captivated me all day. 

     Images from 3 billion miles from earth being transmitted by the New Horizons piano-sized probe have dominated nearly every news and science outlet. There's a Google doodle  and a New Yorker cartoon:

     Nine years after the 2006 launch we are treated to these false-color composite images of Pluto and Pluto's moon, Charon:

      There's even a New Horizons tribute with Ray Bradbury's voice reciting  If only we had taller been.

     For me, all of this spectacular imagery has me thinking about the U. S. space program's first probe of Mars on this very date (Bastille Day!) 50 years ago in 1965 . And, of course, the Moon Landing on July 20, 1969. 

       What is it about our space program and July?! Best time for good publicity? Best time for images? Other ideas?

All hail Pluto, the (round) dwarf planet and Happy Quatorze Juillet!

Steph

P.S. Hey. . .'Sup?

When it Comes to Eclipses, Partial is the new Total

     Enjoy this remarkable video of potato-shaped Phobos, the 11.2-km-in-diameter moon of Mars passing in front of the sun taken by the robot Curiosity from the surface of Mars:

Partial Eclipse of the Sun by Phobos

    And the image above makes a wonderful Partial Ellipsis/Eclipse of the Sun logo, methinks.

    Phobos is only 6000 km from the surface of Mars so even though it is much smaller than the Earth's moon it appears to eclipse less of the sun and does so in splendid, craggy, Mr. Potato Head detail.

     Keep your eyes on Phobos, though, because it is moving a meter or more closer to Mars every century. In 10-15 million years (though some researchers think it will be longer, up to 50 million years) it will likely be pulled into Mars by its tidal forces and break up to become just another planetary ring. Phobos orbits Mars once every 8 hours.

     This phenomenal, enhanced photo shows clearly the Stickney crater on Phobos:

     This main crater on Phobos was named by Asaph Hall in 1877 for his wife, Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, a mathematician, abolitionist and suffragist. Note the smaller crater within the larger crater.

      The striations (see below) on Phobos were originally thought to be related to the crashing of the object which created the large Stickney crater. However, these striations are centered on the leading apex of Phobos in its orbit (which is not far from Stickney). Researchers believe that the striations have been excavated by material ejected into space by impacts on the surface of Mars. The striations thus formed as crater chains, and all of them fade away as one moves toward the trailing apex of Phobos.

   
        (There is also some pretty wild stuff out on the interwebs about Phobos being a space station, being formed of sedimentary rock, etc.)

      Phobos, from the Greek word for fear, is likely composed mostly of carbonaceous chondrite (or C chondrite). The carbon content is likely to be quite low, however, perhaps less than 2 percent:

      Robert Krulwich describes the Phobos partial eclipse well in today's NPR blog (and is credited for today's blog title--it was too perfect for Partial Ellipsis of the Sun to pass up). His description is spot on:


 When it Comes to Eclipses, Partial is the new Total

Enjoy!

Steph
(Word Woman)



This display at the Denver Public Library titled "I don't remember the title but the cover was green" made me smile.

 

M & M: Mercury & Mars: Erupting and Aligning

      Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system (sorry, Pluto), is the site for numerous pyroclastic or volcanic eruptions:

      Volcanos need volatiles (with their low boiling points) like water and carbon dioxide. (Remember: V's need V's.) Thus, this finding was a bit of a shock to some researchers who published research in late March of this year looking at the ages of craters on the planet:


MESSENGER VOLCANIC DATA FROM MERCURY


       These eruptions occurred from 3.0 to 1.5 billion years ago, relatively recently compared to the 4.5 billion year old planet. Investigators had thought Mercury was dry as a fossilized bone (I never liked the expression dry as a bone since living bone has all that smooth, relatively juicy marrow in the middle). Plus, it's a good excuse, IMHO, to post a photo of fossilized bone on this April Tuesday:

      The relatively large iron core of Mercury has also puzzled investigators. Some thought this large core may have been the result of an outer layer of Mercury being burned up so close to the Sun or blasted away by a meteorite hitting the planet. But, the presence of volatiles tends to negate these ideas. Back to the drawing board.

       And, it is back to the drawing board of the night sky this Tuesday evening to see the brilliant burnt orange Mars rising in the eastern sky at sunset:

  

      Mars will be in opposition (aligning) to the Earth in its orbit so will rise in the eastern sky at only 57 million miles away, move through that night drawing board and set in the western sky as our Sun rises tomorrow morning. Definitely worth a look with binoculars tonight!

       How to tie together fleet-footed Mercury which shares its name with the fast-moving element mercury (Hg) and Mars, named after the fiery god of War? A birthday party for the Sun: they had to planet of course. ;-)

      Here's hoping that pun got you right in your solar plexus (plexus being from the Latin for braid--see triple braid below) 

and that it will make you laugh to your non-iron core. 

     I created today's PEOTS as a bit of a haven of wonder at things happening elsewhere ;-) Oh, the third M of the braid to go with Mercury and Mars? I will leave that up to you creative, fellow bloggers. What do you suggest?

       Look up tonight! 

Non volatile-ly,

Word Woman (Scientific Steph)

P.S. And remember: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nothing (Oh, Pluto, we miss those Nine Pizzas!)