Martian Rock Found In Morocco

That explains it by tarzan353 · 2004-01-21 16:17 · Score: 2, Informative

I ask one question, could this rock not have come from the same source as the billions of rocks that litter the martian surface? I.E. somewhere other than Mars.

Two reasons for suspecting they originated on Mars:

Martian meteorites come in a range of ages - some as young as a billion years old. By comparison, most meteorites hang out around the 4.6 billion years old mark - the point when small planetary bodies were forming in the Solar System.

For rocks to be much younger than 4.6 billion they have to come from a body that was evolving - that was hot, partially molten and volcanically active. Such a body would have to be big - a planet. Mars is the most obvious candidate, it shows clear signs of tectonism until relatively recently - new rock was being formed on Mars within the last billion years.

The second reason for suspecting these are Martian rocks is so clever it borders on magical. Some meteorites have been analysed in the lab. They contain vesicles - tiny bubbles of gas trapped in the molten rock. When the rock cooled and froze, the gas was trapped.

When these bubbles are cracked open, the gas inside can be analysed. The ratios of the inert gases (gases such as neon, argon and krypton) precisely match the ratios in the Martian atmosphere measured by American and Soviet probes.

I've no idea if the Egyptian dog-killer has been analysed though.

Best wishes,

Mike.

Re:That explains it by bad_fx · 2004-01-21 16:32 · Score: 5, Informative

Uh...Nice cut and paste. Maybe you should think of something original next time.
Re:That explains it by mars_rover · 2004-01-21 16:33 · Score: 5, Funny

That's odd... the piece of Mars I have on my desk is composed of entirely different substances: Milk Solids (40%), cocoa, emulsifiers, caramel, glucose etc. Scientists believe that it came from the Mare Saccharum region on Mars...
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:37 · Score: 0

but how else can you get an easy +4 for the karma stakes? and how many posts on /. are truly original posts...?
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:39 · Score: 0

i guess he could've at least got rid of the "best wishes, Mike" part to make it seem at least plausibly appear to be his own creation.

oh well.
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:49 · Score: 2, Interesting

Two reasons for suspecting they originated on Mars

It never ceases to amaze me that in the world of "science" that theory is most always talked of as proven fact. If the probability that object x doesn't exist is 80%, that object is talked about as if it doesn't exist conclusively, even though the possiblity that it exists is in the other 20%t. The age of the universe is a good example. Scientist y estimates to to being x Billion years old, and every textbook, news article, journal, documentary, etc states that the universe is x billion years old as if proven fact. The truth is that no-one currently knows exactly whether it's one billion or a billion billion years old.
Re:That explains it by buttahead · 2004-01-21 17:12 · Score: 1, Offtopic

check out http://www.google.com/search?q=Python+would+be+a+r etrograde+choice.&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0& start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

and compare with:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=93598&c id=8034 340

mike seems to be a habitual copier. marked as foe very soon.
Re:That explains it by buttahead · 2004-01-21 17:15 · Score: 1, Offtopic

damn. let me use links... damn slash spaces:

compare
this search

with this post
Re: That explains it by Black+Parrot · 2004-01-21 17:17 · Score: 2, Interesting

> It never ceases to amaze me that in the world of "science" that theory is most always talked of as proven fact. If the probability that object x doesn't exist is 80%, that object is talked about as if it doesn't exist conclusively, even though the possiblity that it exists is in the other 20%t. The age of the universe is a good example. Scientist y estimates to to being x Billion years old, and every textbook, news article, journal, documentary, etc states that the universe is x billion years old as if proven fact. The truth is that no-one currently knows exactly whether it's one billion or a billion billion years old.

That's why scientists prefer convergent evidence over one individual's opinion.

BTW, AFAICT astronomers are now nearly unanimous on an age of 13.7 billion years. This is a fairly recent result.

--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Re:That explains it by MrFreshly · 2004-01-21 17:41 · Score: 2, Funny

3rd reason...Because it has "Made in Mars" stamped on the bottom.
Re:That explains it by Tablizer · 2004-01-21 18:07 · Score: 1

....match the ratios in the Martian atmosphere measured by American and Soviet probes.

The Soviets never had a successful Mars lander. Were these Soviet measurements taken on the way down?

--
Table-ized A.I.
Re:That explains it by DARKFORCE123 · 2004-01-21 18:55 · Score: 1

I demand all slashdot postings to go through a plagarism checker!
Re:That explains it by britneys+9th+husband · 2004-01-21 18:55 · Score: 1

I'll trade you a coin from ancient Rome (dated 79 B.C.) for one of your Mars rocks.

--
Hear recorded Slashdot headlines on your phone! New service beta testing. Just call (248) 434-5508
Re: That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 19:17 · Score: 0

So, nearly unanimous means convergent evidence? And so why-how come does they says to me on ye 'ol Discovery Channel that it is 45 billions years old? Would that be a different set of convergent evidence loving unanimous scientists?

Things that make you go hmm. So the universe is x billion years old because:
1. We had a unanimous vote that approved it,
2. Nobody really cares to argue it,
3. We're all just sappy fools and don't care anyways, as long as the economy is improving,
4. Did I have a fourth point? Whatever.
Re:That explains it by iwein · 2004-01-21 19:22 · Score: 1

you don't need to _land_ there to measure the composition of the atmosphere. pfff, that is so yesterday.

--
Show a man some news, distract him for an hour. Show a man some mod points, distract him for the rest of his life.
Re:That explains it by Tablizer · 2004-01-21 19:50 · Score: 2, Interesting

you don't need to _land_ there to measure the composition of the atmosphere. pfff, that is so yesterday.

True, but atmospheric entry is such a bumpy, complex, and involved process that I am surprised one can get decent readings during such time. I suppose an orbiter could take the spectrum of the limb (edge) of the planet, but the surface would interfere it seems to me. It just seems far more reliable to get it at the surface. Then again, I ain't no space scientist.

--
Table-ized A.I.
Re:That explains it by ktanmay · 2004-01-21 19:58 · Score: 1

Scientist y estimates to to being x Billion years old, and every textbook, news article, journal, documentary, etc states that the universe is x billion years old as if proven fact.
There's your answer, the media must be held responsible for assuming the theory to be true, or at least reporting incorrectly. What about the reader, shouldn't there be certain amount of discretion while going through text of significant importance.

When it comes to science as complex as evaluating the age of the universe, fact remains that more than 90% of the people (layman/passive readers) have no clue as to what the mathematical equations and astronomical observations imply, so one is left with nothing but the stuff mentioned in journals, who's to say what is true?.
Re:That explains it by troon · 2004-01-21 20:17 · Score: 1

I demand all slashdot postings to go through a plagarism checker!

It already has one, of sorts. I thought "wouldn't it be amusing to post exactly the same comment? yeah, that'd make those weak-minded /. fools rotfl."

So I tried, and got this:

This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original...

I don't know what its scope is - comment, story or date level. I have better things to do than examine the slashcode.

--
Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
Re: That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:27 · Score: 1, Interesting

But to state that the universe is 13.7 billion year old as a fact, is indeed error. The possiblity exists that man's feeble grasp at understanding the universe is incorrect - and thus the age of the universe might be of some other vintage in reality.
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:30 · Score: 0

Who's to say what is true?

God.
Re:That explains it by instarx · 2004-01-21 22:20 · Score: 3, Insightful

What you are calling "science" is really science reporting. Science reporting summarizes the real science and leaves out the qualifiers and statistical information from the original published peer-reviewed work. Science reporting frequently offers broad and sweeping conclusions of hard fact from original work that only reports on evidence that such a conclusion may be true. Even science textbooks are basically summaries of the original research and omit the nuances. Science reporting is a hollow shell of real science.

To understand what the scientists are really saying you have to go read and understand the original articles.
Re:That explains it by bad_fx · 2004-01-21 22:29 · Score: 1

Ack, poor Mike - the parent is not him. He's just some dipshit who copied some poor fella named Mike's post, and didn't even bother remove the name.
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 23:36 · Score: 0

Uh...Nice cut and paste.
Please: he's just sharing. What's wrong with that? Is the original author diminished in some way?
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 02:21 · Score: 0

One Question: When you own a strange piece3 of rock, who can tell you more about it? Are there web ressources?
Re: That explains it by Spunk · 2004-01-22 02:25 · Score: 1

Using that logic... can ANY fact be true?

Just mentally add "to the best of our knowledge" to any fact and it should work out.
Re: That explains it by Xoder · 2004-01-22 03:10 · Score: 1

All facts are false.

Enjoy Your Discord.

All Hail Discordia! ;-)

--
The previous sig has been removed due to /. protecting your best interests
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 05:03 · Score: 0

You insensible clod, Mike is a green guy! He reclyed text instead to cut a tree to make a new keyboard. :)
Re:That explains it by Joey7F · 2004-01-22 05:22 · Score: 2, Insightful

Exactly! how else can you get easy karma (+4 in this case!) and really, how many slashdot posts are truly original?

It doesn't really hurt any as long as you change the phrasing and/or copy it from an ac

As I always say "don't sweat the small stuff!"

--Joey
Re: That explains it by dublin · 2004-01-22 05:23 · Score: 0, Flamebait

> It never ceases to amaze me that in the world of "science" that theory is most always talked of as proven fact. If the probability that object x doesn't exist is 80%, that object is talked about as if it doesn't exist conclusively, even though the possiblity that it exists is in the other 20%t. The age of the universe is a good example. Scientist y estimates to to being x Billion years old, and every textbook, news article, journal, documentary, etc states that the universe is x billion years old as if proven fact. The truth is that no-one currently knows exactly whether it's one billion or a billion billion years old.

That's why scientists prefer convergent evidence over one individual's opinion.

BTW, AFAICT astronomers are now nearly unanimous on an age of 13.7 billion years. This is a fairly recent result.

Your "convergent evidence", though, is not really any such thing, but just a general agreement on what is politically acceptable, not scientifically justified.

It's vitally important to understand that these dates are in reality based solely on conjecture, since every radioactive dating method rests on unfounded assumptions - assumptions that produce results that are known to be grossly and wildly inconsistent in the few cases we have where the ages of rocks *are* known precisely. The assumptions are "tweaked" to produce the desired age, not the other way around...

--
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last ./ post
Re: That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 08:05 · Score: 0

Using that logic... can ANY fact be true? The age of the universe is a fact that we may never know. Calling it x billion years old is NOT a fact! It's an assumption. An assumption made on educated calculations, but an assumption all the same. Now, the fact that I ate breakfast this morning is a fact I can prove.
Re:That explains it by juhaz · 2004-01-22 17:20 · Score: 1

Well, Mars-3 and 6 landers did manage to land, but failed after only few seconds and minutes. Not a success by just about any definition, but still plenty of time to transmit atmospheric data.

Then again, you can get just fine readings from orbit - heck, you can get pretty good data about Martian atmosphere without even leaving Earth.
Re: That explains it by juhaz · 2004-01-22 17:33 · Score: 1

Could you provide same results from a plausible source - creationists and their well-known lies don't come even close to being anything more than a good laugh.
Re: That explains it by dublin · 2004-01-23 03:24 · Score: 1

Could you provide same results from a plausible source - creationists and their well-known lies don't come even close to being anything more than a good laugh.

Actually, if you'd bother to read the links and their footnotes, you'd see the original sources are published science and comments of scientists. The site itself is run by uber-programmer David Pogge, a.k.a "Do-While Jones", who has achieved the high honor of being named a fellow at the US Navy's China Lake Weapons Center as one of the world's leading experts on the hardware and software design of guided missile systems.

Most of the quotes in the article are from the likes of Science and Nature, sources not noted for their "creationist" sympathies. There is no credibility gap here, unless its yours. They said what they said, in print, and what they said clearly does not support evolution.

In any case, Pogge's site, Science Against Evolution is not at all creationist, but simply points out that science actually does anything but support the theory of evolution. In this case, it is the scientist's own words and backtracking from their unjustifiable assertion about this "Mars rock" that make the links so interesting.

--
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last ./ post
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-24 01:54 · Score: 0

But those gasses were probably trapped in there when the rock was formed several billion years ago. Why should the gas composition of Mars today be the same as back then?
Re:That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-24 07:27 · Score: 0

it's called karma whoring. Find a past comment that had +5 karma, copy, whore, repeat. The original posters then lose chance at karma for their original thoughts. It's bad enough so many moderators waste their mod points on flamebait & other negative mod points on posts that obviously aren't but rather are a belief other than their own. Never mind this is news and they use their mod points to make /. slanted news.
Re: That explains it by grolschie · 2004-01-24 09:00 · Score: 1

Good post dude! Thanks. :-)
Re:That explains it by Joey7F · 2004-01-26 13:10 · Score: 1

Insightful? Hehe, I meant for that to be funny... :-P

--Joey

So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by bc90021 · 2004-01-21 16:17 · Score: 5, Funny

...we find another Martian rock here on Earth. For those of you that don't think fate doesn't have a sense of irony, I think that this story proves it. ;)

--
libertarianswag.com

Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by stevesliva · 2004-01-21 16:20 · Score: 3, Interesting

Even more ironic-- it contains olivine. Spirit's found some of that.

--
Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by Polkyb · 2004-01-21 22:05 · Score: 1

Even MORE ironic than that will be when Spirit starts finding rocks from Earth

--
I've never shoed a horse, but I once told a donkey to piss off!
Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by Mr+Guy · 2004-01-22 01:25 · Score: 1

I misread that as Ovaltine and thought, well of course, they didn't have their secret decoder pin.

--
Never confuse volume with power.
Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by pokeyburro · 2004-01-22 05:27 · Score: 1

Sooo....

Mars is really Earth, and we've actually been on Mars all this time???

--
Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by pokeyburro · 2004-01-22 05:30 · Score: 1

Maybe the Morocco rock is actually part of an Earth rover from Mars. Broke off when some dingbat Martian intern forgot to convert between grobfritzes and miftues.

--
Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by juhaz · 2004-01-22 16:55 · Score: 1

Hey, that's what I've been saying all along!

There's no Mars, they're making it up in the Utah desert!
Re:So after sending Spirit millions of miles... by macraig · 2004-01-22 21:05 · Score: 1

> Even more ironic-- it contains olivine....
More "ironic" than you might think: olivine actually contains iron.

Why go to Mars? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:17 · Score: 2, Funny

Obviously it's a waste to be spending so much on sending robots to Mars. Why not send the robots to Morocco instead? Talk about saving money on airfare!

Re:Why go to Mars? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:37 · Score: 0

What if we sent more rocks to Mars?
Re:Why go to Mars? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 19:54 · Score: 0

better... outsource it to Moroccans. Worksout cheaper than robots.
Re:Why go to Mars? by adrianbaugh · 2004-01-22 01:25 · Score: 1

Some of the conspiracy theorists would probably have you believe we did :-)

--
"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
- JRR Tolkien.
Re:Why go to Mars? by srussell · 2004-01-22 06:31 · Score: 1

Obviously it's a waste to be spending so much on sending robots to Mars. Why not send the robots to Morocco instead? Talk about saving money on airfare!

Heck, I'll even make you a better deal: send me to Morocco for just a fraction of the cost of your multi-million dollar robot.

millions of dollars by giraphe · 2004-01-21 16:17 · Score: 0, Funny

Good thing we spent millions of dollars to get a piece of rock TO Mars.

Cool! by ZipR · 2004-01-21 16:18 · Score: 5, Funny

Instead of us having to go to Mars, Mars is coming to us!

Re:Cool! by Pento · 2004-01-21 16:23 · Score: 1

In Soviet Russia, Mars sends probe to you?

*smacks self*
Re:Cool! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 18:46 · Score: 0

You mean: In SOVIET RUSSIA, Mars probes you!
Re:Cool! by grolschie · 2004-01-21 20:36 · Score: 1

Cue some one liner re: Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.
Re:Cool! by oPless · 2004-01-21 21:44 · Score: 1

For one, I welcome our new martian overlords, because in North Africa, you don't goto Mars, Mars comes to you!
Re:Cool! by Jim+Hall · 2004-01-22 01:03 · Score: 1

Instead of us having to go to Mars, Mars is coming to us!
No, now we're just shooting back. For every rock they fired at us, we'll fire back a Beagle spacecraft.
Re:Cool! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 01:22 · Score: 0

Mars is shooting back...
Re:Cool! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 05:01 · Score: 0

This rock wasn't found in Soviet Russia, was it?

Like all /.ers, I have not yet RTFA...
Re:Cool! by lemarsu · 2004-01-22 09:17 · Score: 1

Actually not, they sent back what was left of the Beagle.

Magmatism by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:19 · Score: 1, Funny

Magmatism is the main process by which water moves from the core of planets to their surface.

You mean volcanos just spew out water? Woo-hoo! Time to move to Hawaii!!

Re:Magmatism by grungebox · 2004-01-21 16:29 · Score: 1

Wow, what if martian rocks contained some sort of magnetic component and the scientists studying those rocks wanted to analyze them in a practical, rational manner? Would that be magmatism magnetism pragmatism?
Wow...that was awful. -1, sucky jokex0r
Re:Magmatism by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 03:08 · Score: 0

The definition of Magmatism involves "Liquids" but that doesn't mean WATER. It means molten rock, ie: magma, ie: lava

Sheesh

Magmatism by deuist · 2004-01-21 16:20 · Score: 3, Funny

"Magmatism is the main process by which water moves from the core of planets to their surface."

I thought that magnetism was a process that involved two pieces of metal being attracted to each other. Oh, you said magmatism ...

Morocco should now be called... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:20 · Score: 0

MarsRocko

A rock found in my backyard by ObviousGuy · 2004-01-21 16:21 · Score: 1

I found a rock in my backyard which is composed of material originating from the sun.

Amazing!

--
I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.

Re:A rock found in my backyard by eclectro · 2004-01-21 16:30 · Score: 1

FYI the sun is made out of hydrogen.

For once, Obvious Guy isn't :)

--
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Nexus+Seven · 2004-01-21 16:42 · Score: 1

Perhaps you mean another, now defunct, Sun.

Ours is still made of Hydrogen.
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Tablizer · 2004-01-21 18:45 · Score: 5, Interesting

Perhaps you mean another, now defunct, Sun. Ours is still made of Hydrogen.

Almost every piece of matter on Earth came from defunct Suns (stars) what exploded at the end of their lives. The very monitor you are staring at is left-over star boom boom. It is suspected that heavy elements like gold came from supernovas or hypernovas, really big stars with really big booms, the kind that can outshine entire galaxies for a few days or weeks. So next time you see a gold ring, realize that it came from the largest kind of explosions known in the entire universe. Booms beyond human comprehension.

--
Table-ized A.I.
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 18:51 · Score: 0

And once again everybody on slashdot repeats the same triviality of scientific knowledge without reading eachothers' posts.
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 19:45 · Score: 0

And once again everybody on slashdot repeats the same triviality of scientific knowledge without reading eachothers' posts.

What is your complaint? The Helium statement? Not really related.
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:04 · Score: 0

So next time you see a gold ring, realize that it came from the largest kind of explosions known in the entire universe.
...or from some advanced alien civilization that got tired of waiting around for hypernovas and decided to synthesize the stuff instead.
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 04:54 · Score: 0

o/~ We are stardust. o/~
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Reziac · 2004-01-22 09:08 · Score: 1

Oh, so *that's* what they're doing over at Edwards AFB this morning (much BOOM-BOOMing going on) -- turning hydrogen into gold! All the alchemists will be SOOOO jealous. ;)

--
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Re:A rock found in my backyard by darc · 2004-01-22 14:42 · Score: 1

Actually, you can indeed do this with a lot of particle accelerators and nuclear fusion. You can also do it with lead.

Unfortunately, the end result is extremely expensive, and in case you intend to give it to your honey-honey, highly radioactive.

The alchemists will be jealous, but after handling it for a while, also very dead.

--
Tired of legitimate data sources? Try UNCYCLOPEDIA
Re:A rock found in my backyard by Reziac · 2004-01-22 17:08 · Score: 1

True, starting with lead would probably make the transmutation into gold somewhat swifter... not so many loose particles in the initial ingredient list, less BOOM-BOOM required to startle the alchemists.

Here in the Antelope Valley, home of to several uranium mines, a little extra radiation would hardly be noticed... after all, that's why they put Edwards AFB here in the first place: the area was considered unfit for human habitation due to high levels of natural radiation (we do see weird mutant carrion beetles occasionally), and they figured nothing they in their research could harm anything. Naturally, this explains why Palmdale/Lancaster is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. :)

--
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?

water at the core? Ummm, no. by Ralph+Spoilsport · 2004-01-21 16:21 · Score: 3, Informative

The core of a planet is too hot and dense for water.

AFAIK, the parent is wrong.

RS

--
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.

Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by RaboKrabekian · 2004-01-21 16:26 · Score: 0

Well obviously you haven't seen The Phantom Menace. Of course a planet's core can be made of water!!!

I swear, some people just don't *pay attention*.

--
"Moderate drinking can help prevent amputated limbs" -- Abigail Zuger, NYTimes, 12/31/02
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by adlai · 2004-01-21 16:31 · Score: 5, Interesting

Yeah, I saw the "magmatism is the main process by which water moves from the core of planets to their surface" thing and coughed quietly to myself *cough* *cough*.

Core differentiation generally happens REALLY early in planet's history, and it seems to me that it isn't precisely correct to say magmatism in this context, (which implies "volcanism" at least to me). Bouyancy and heat are what really moves water to the surface, since it is a) much less dense than rock (think about it) and b) not real stable at real high T.

In other words -- what moves water around is a whole mess of ugly chemistry and thermodynamics that I'll leave to my petrologist buddies to explain to me (dah? dah!) with odd pentagonal diagrams.
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by toxic666 · 2004-01-21 19:46 · Score: 3, Interesting

Oh, you have no idea how well you summed up the petrology of this meterorite:

"It is described as a peridotite, an extremely rare type of Mars rock consisting of the minerals olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase glass."

This beastie originated near the mantle, at great depth. And there is NO water down there. If the meteorite contains water, it may be from Mars, but it may also be contamination from earth.

I've seen zero evidence for either, and after NASA claimed they had proof of Mars life in a meteorite, I will accept no evidence until validated by and outside lab.
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:33 · Score: 0

How do we know the temperature on Mars? Have we sent a thermometer up there? Oh yeah, that's right, we did.
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by Reziac · 2004-01-22 09:02 · Score: 1

How do we know it's a rare rock on Mars? For all we know, there it may be common as dirt.

--
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 18:43 · Score: 0

How do we know it's a rare rock on Mars? For all we know, there it may be common as dirt.

Well, we would know if it was the most common thing on Mars (surface, anyways) because we've been studying Mars for a couple of decades now. We don't need to -land- on Mars to know what substances are common on Mars. We know what the Sun is made of and we haven't taken any samples.
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-24 02:02 · Score: 0

It's called groundwater you fucktwit. It's been scientifically proven to exist as far below as 20% of the planet's radius, and current drilling measurements have proven it correct down to about 35%. Don't open your mouth about things you know nothing about.
Re:water at the core? Ummm, no. by vidnet · 2004-01-24 02:07 · Score: 1

Heh, nice troll. It's got "scientifically proven" fake facts and everything.
The deepest people have drilled is 15km. If that's 35%, the world is indeed getting smaller.

Re:Quick! Mine it for oil! by An+Onerous+Coward · 2004-01-21 16:21 · Score: 1

Thanks for making my, "They've taken it to Guantanamo for questioning" crack completely redundant.

--

You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

War of the Worlds by grungebox · 2004-01-21 16:21 · Score: 3, Funny

Maybe those rocks are the results of primitive Martian interplanetary weapons tests. After all, they have to make sure mere rocks can make it here before they send plasma-nuclear-hyper-transmogrifying-death bombs, right?

Oh geez, I better load up on duct tape if the fucking Martians are coming.

Re:War of the Worlds by afidel · 2004-01-21 16:42 · Score: 2, Funny

Nah, it's just the testing phase for a bigger version. They don't need plasma-nuclear-hyper-transmogrifying-death bombs if they can scale their rock thrower up to a big enough size because really large rocks moving at interplantary speeds is just as effective at killing as the much more expensive plasma-nuclear-hyper-transmogrifying-death bombs. See that's why the rock is magnetic, the mass driver has to use ferous materials =)

--
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Re:War of the Worlds by britneys+9th+husband · 2004-01-21 19:06 · Score: 1

The Martians are attacking us? I sure am glad President Bush is building a missile defense shield. Surely it can be adapted to defend against rocks from outer space too. King George will protect us from the Martian evildoers!

--
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Re:War of the Worlds by Keith_Beef · 2004-01-22 02:42 · Score: 1

That's it, then... Indisputable proof, that the Martianians have Weppons of Mass Distruction... >
Re:War of the Worlds by miles_thatsme · 2004-01-22 03:35 · Score: 1

Why do people always assume the Martians are aggressive? Clearly this is merely an exploratory rock, just like the hardware that we sent there. No doubt, they're having trouble establishing radio contact with their carefully-researched rock too.

The most obvious proof that this is fact-gathering rock is where it landed. We have tons of water, so we send our research hardware looking for water. Where does the Martian rock go? Our biggest desert.
Re:War of the Worlds by LnxAddct · 2004-01-22 05:39 · Score: 1

Shhh... don't give Bush any ideas.
Re:War of the Worlds by MoronGames · 2004-01-22 14:13 · Score: 1

Actually, Martians are terribly strong. They're simply throwing rocks at us.

--
hey!

names by tsunamifirestorm · 2004-01-21 16:22 · Score: 0

"has been officially called the North-West Africa 1950, but has been nicknamed the Jules Verne"

and i thought i was weird giving my car a name?

It's only fair... by QSO_Wizard · 2004-01-21 16:22 · Score: 5, Funny

the Earth is littering Mars with spacecraft debris. Mars just wants a little payback.

More importantly... by paul248 · 2004-01-21 16:22 · Score: 4, Funny

Did they find Beagle 2 on it?

Re:More importantly... by rice_web · 2004-01-21 16:40 · Score: 1

Or is it spelled Bagle?

--
The Political Programmer
Re:More importantly... by Stile+65 · 2004-01-21 17:09 · Score: 1

Yeah, and it's already infected all of the lab's PCs!

--
I claim first use of "Error No. 0B" - or "No. 0B error." It'll be the new ID 10T!
Re:More importantly... by Tablizer · 2004-01-21 17:49 · Score: 1

ESA: "Oh Beagle! You've come back to Papa! Good boy!"

Hmmm. Perhaps Australia contributed some boomerang technology to it.

--
Table-ized A.I.
Re:More importantly... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:06 · Score: 0

die.

From Mars? by LinuxIsStillBetter · 2004-01-21 16:25 · Score: 1

So, how is it we know the rocks from the Atlas mountains are from Mars, yet the Discovery Channel says Mars Soil Surprises Scientists: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040119/mars soil.html

Re:From Mars? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:54 · Score: 0

when the FUCK will you people learn how to add a link properly - http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040119/mars soil.html if ya want to display the full url properly for the goatse fearful... they can always copy link location, paste it into their location bar, and away we go anyway
Re:From Mars? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 19:25 · Score: 0

Ok, but you didn't answer the question.

Wow! That girl's pretty hot... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:27 · Score: 0

"Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay hold rocks from Mars"

That girl's pretty hot! She can hold my rocks any day.

Bruno, however, can keep holding his own.

So? by toxic666 · 2004-01-21 16:27 · Score: 4, Insightful

We have rovers on Mars collecting data that has no chance of being contaminated by a meteorite impact, travel through space and terrestrial processes.

I'll take data from the horse's mouth.

Rock on, Rovers!

Re:So? by SnowZero · 2004-01-21 18:49 · Score: 1

Of course there is a chance, albeit small, that a rock from Earth will hit the rovers and contaminate them. Good thing we sent two.
Re:So? by Galvatron · 2004-01-21 19:55 · Score: 1

Now, I'm not saying that the rovers aren't doing good, important geological science. However, the range of tests that can be done on a rock in an Earth-based laboratory totally dwarfs anything on either rover. Plus, it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

--
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
Re:So? by toxic666 · 2004-01-21 20:00 · Score: 1

Uhhh, yeah. That rover we have on the surface just happened to have been hit by a high kinetic energy earth rock before its perfectly successful, landing. And the meteorite did no damage.

Can you share some of the stuff you and Daryl have been smoking? Must be real good. Just make sure my friends c-c-c-cut me off be-e-e-fore I get p-p-p-paranoid and d-d-d-delusional.
Re:So? by toxic666 · 2004-01-21 20:06 · Score: 2, Funny

What is a hell of a lot cheaper?

Flying Mars rocks back to earth? Flying an kewl earth lab, all its equipent and employees to Mars? Flying people to Mars to collect rocks and bring them back to earth?

PLEASE send me some of the 'shrooms you ate before posting that comment.
Re:So? by toxic666 · 2004-01-21 20:18 · Score: 2, Interesting

OK, I got a bit bitchy.

The point is, the specimen is contaminated and only limited samples are available. NASA held out the "Life on Mars" sample until its outrageous conclusions were forced into the public eye. They tried to prohibit peer review. Once a rare sample is set aside as untouchable, forget about validation.

We'll be getting important data from validated samples from the rovers and that data will be available to all for peer review.
Re:So? by Galvatron · 2004-01-22 20:55 · Score: 1

What is a hell of a lot cheaper?
Analyzing meteorites from Mars in an Earthside laboratory is a hell of a lot cheaper than sending a probe to Mars. I believe this was obvious from the context.

--
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-24 07:37 · Score: 0

It's called "humor".

Suspicious.... by Ironica · 2004-01-21 16:28 · Score: 4, Funny

From the article: The team that found it was led by experienced meteorite hunters Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay, who have now found six rocks from Mars - a record.

Interesting that they seem to know *just* where to find Martian rocks.

Quick! Get them! They're Martian spies!

--
Don't you wish your girlfriend was a geek like me?

Re:Suspicious.... by grungebox · 2004-01-21 16:31 · Score: 1

Meteorite hunters?
"Crikey! It looks like we got us 'ere another Martian rock! Dange'! Dange'!"
I don't suppose Carine or Bruno brought a baby along, did they?
Re:Suspicious.... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:51 · Score: 0

who have now found six rocks from Mars - a record.

If I ever happened to find a Mars Rock, I would take a sledgehammer to it.

Wow - 57 Mars Rocks! - a record.
Re:Suspicious.... by Ironica · 2004-01-21 20:38 · Score: 1

If I ever happened to find a Mars Rock, I would take a sledgehammer to it.

Wow - 57 Mars Rocks! - a record.

That would be funnier if not for this part of the story:
The meteorite - although in two fragments, they are classified as the same body - has been officially called the North-West Africa 1950, but has been nicknamed the Jules Verne, after the French author.
So, sorry, that's 1 x 57 = 1 in Martian Rock Math. ;-)

--
Don't you wish your girlfriend was a geek like me?
Re:Suspicious.... by dublin · 2004-01-22 04:56 · Score: 2, Insightful

From the article: The team that found it was led by experienced meteorite hunters Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay, who have now found six rocks from Mars - a record.

Interesting that they seem to know *just* where to find Martian rocks.

It's also really interesting that the last big hoo-rah about finding "a rock from Mars" here on Earth coincided with Bush Sr's proposal for a mission to Mars. What's really amazing is that these discoveries are so strongly correlated to Congressional consideration of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars for Mars research! (Perhaps we should fund a $40 million NASA/CBO research study to determine if this correlation can be linked to any sort of causality? Hmmm?)

There is absolutely no real evidence that these rocks are from Mars, and in fact, NASA very quickly backed away from defending the Mars origin theory when pressed to provide scientific backup. There is absolutely no substantial reason to believe that ALH84001 came from Mars, other than that it sure seems to help get funding.

Of course, if we go to Mars, it should be without NASA - how we could think that a government agency with a worse operational safety and efficiency record than the Post Office should run a Mars mission is beyond me. I've worked at NASA, and belive me, the only real soultion is to bulldoze the entire organization and start over - even thenm you'd need to wait ten years before starting over to avoid the revolving door effect...

--
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last ./ post
Re:Suspicious.... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 10:57 · Score: 0

Easily solved. Smash into 190 pieces. Throw 75 away (removing obvious evidence of connection). Then 'find' them in different locations. Presto! 25 meteorites.
Re:Suspicious.... by Ironica · 2004-01-22 18:51 · Score: 1

Easily solved. Smash into 190 pieces. Throw 75 away (removing obvious evidence of connection). Then 'find' them in different locations. Presto! 25 meteorites.

190 - 75 = 25...

More new Martian Math!

The Martian Spies will go after our calculator watches next...

--
Don't you wish your girlfriend was a geek like me?

what if... by noelo · 2004-01-21 16:29 · Score: 0

the rover on mars examines a rock there which has been blasted from Earth.......

Helium 3? What about Ice 9? by sfled · 2004-01-21 16:33 · Score: 1

Damn you Kurt Vonnegut, damn you and your smarmy Sci-Fi writings!

--
I'm not really a web designer, I just play one on the Internet.

Wow! That girl's pretty hot... by cvk · 2004-01-21 16:33 · Score: 1

"Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay hold rocks from Mars" That girl's pretty hot! She can hold my rocks any day. Bruno, however, can keep holding his own. [Sorry, I originally AC'd this by accident.]

Dang... by Kenja · 2004-01-21 16:34 · Score: 1, Funny

Dang, I was wondering where I left that. Wonder what type of paper work I would need to do to get it back.

--

"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"

I wonder if... by Jarwulf · 2004-01-21 16:35 · Score: 2, Insightful

Bacteria are particularly tough and anaeorobic species can surivive in the interior of rocks for an obscenely long amount of time without access to outside nutrients. Maybe sometime in the primordial past an impact could have sent one rock plummeting to mars. The planet is seeded...suprise...

Re:I wonder if... by mars_rover · 2004-01-21 16:38 · Score: 2, Funny

Bacteria are particularly tough and anaeorobic species can surivive in the interior of rocks for an obscenely long amount of time without access to outside nutrients. Sounds like the boffins Bill has locked up in Redmond coding Longhorn...

Not a weapon... by SuperKendall · 2004-01-21 16:35 · Score: 1

Actually, the rock was a martian probe that didn't land so well. You think WE are the only ones tired of loosing probes? Mars had thier own Polar Lander, and look how that fared.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

The ironing is delicious by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:36 · Score: 0

[insert joke about Uranus here]

Re:The ironing is delicious by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 02:45 · Score: 0

And the irony too.

Magmatism involves water? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 16:36 · Score: 0

I thought it would involve magma myself! Molten rock! Not water.

circumstances regarding how it got here by plasm4 · 2004-01-21 16:49 · Score: 4, Interesting

the distance from the earth to mars, at its closest is more than 55 million kilometers (33 million miles). the article states that about 20 such rocks have been found on earth so far. It seems that Mar at some point must have undergone some pretty serious bombardment from asteroids, and big ones too it seems, if the impacts caused martian rock to leave its gravitational field, and come all the way to earth. It seems like trying to throw a dart at an ant from 100 yards

Re:circumstances regarding how it got here by jb_davis · 2004-01-21 17:08 · Score: 2, Interesting

That would be difficult, but when you throw hundreds or even thousands of darts, some most likely will hit.

--
"Well, it took an hour to write, I thought it would take an hour to read."
Re:circumstances regarding how it got here by Galvatron · 2004-01-21 20:01 · Score: 2, Informative

Yes, all terrestrial planets in the solar system (excpet Venus, which appears to undergo periodic resurfacing, erasing old impact craters) show evidence of a period of extremely heavy bombardment in their early histories, about 3 billion years ago. This is why the lunar highlands are so much more heavily cratered than the mare (lava floodplains formed sometime after the heavy bombardment period). If you've got pictures of the moon handy, the "dark side" is primarily the heavily cratered highlands, while the side that faces us has more mare.

--
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
Re:circumstances regarding how it got here by Paul+Cameron · 2004-01-21 21:46 · Score: 4, Informative
It seems like trying to throw a dart at an ant from 100 yards
Your analogy is flawed.
1. You're ignoring gravity, the rock hits Earth partly because the earth is altering it's trajectory
2. If the rock does not directly hit Earth, the two can swing around the sun and try again. The rock won't necessarily fly out of the solar system
Re:circumstances regarding how it got here by fucksl4shd0t · 2004-01-21 22:50 · Score: 1

It probably happened when our Martian ancestors nuked the 5th planet for manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. THat plan totally backfired. LUckily, they had already settled the third planet...

--
Like what I said? You might like my music
Re:circumstances regarding how it got here by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 02:49 · Score: 0

The known Martian meteorites are just a lucky (unlucky?) few that collided with Earth. There are probably plenty more still out in space in orbits around the Sun. Only a few will intersect the Earth's orbit, and this may be *long* after they were originally blasted off the Martian surface by an impact.

Mars was heavily bombarded. A good 3/4 of its surface is heavily cratered with huge impacts on par with or bigger than the Lunar maria. Earth was almost certainly subjected to a similar bombardment early in its history (mostly >3.8 billion years ago, based on the ages of cratering events on the Moon, which are known from the Apollo missions). Geological activity since then has largely erased the craters on Earth (burial, erosion, etc.). On Mars, which has been less active, many old craters still linger, somewhat like on the Moon (which is even less active than Mars and therefore more pristine, from an ancient cratering perspective). You can think of it this way, on a scale of current geological activity, as indicated by the density of cratering:

Earth >> Venus >> Mars >> Moon

Earth is a happening place, geologically speaking. The only bodies that compete are places like Io (one of Jupiter's moons), which is practically turning itself inside-out with volcanism.

People often ask why go way out there to Mars, but, really, going there is as much about trying to understand the Earth.
Re:circumstances regarding how it got here by juhaz · 2004-01-22 17:05 · Score: 1

Even a single impact of good size is bound to throw up a lot of rock, so even dismissing Earth's gravity and the fact that even if they miss, there's a change of hitting again later, it's more like shooting the ant with a machine gun.

There are probably much more martian rocks here than these few, it's not like finding them or recognizing them as martian is easy - and the smaller ones have disintegrated in atmosphere.

What's next by moosesocks · 2004-01-21 17:09 · Score: 2, Insightful

What's next? Are we now going to find out that the rocks being analyzed by Spirit are actually from earth?

--
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose

Re:What's next by Tablizer · 2004-01-21 18:18 · Score: 4, Informative

What's next? Are we now going to find out that the rocks being analyzed by Spirit are actually from earth?

It is easier for Mars debri to transfer to Earth than the other way around because of the stronger gravity on Earth. I read somewhere that Earth's gravity is on the borderline of being too strong to allow rocks to escape via meteor impact. One might say that some impacts are much stronger than others so that fast ones might still do it. However, past a certain impact energy, ejected material vaporizes such that there are no projectiles left.

In other words, too slow and rocks cannot reach escape velocity. Too fast and rocks vaporize from the heat of the impact. The middle "just right" window may not exist, or barely exist on Earth, but is relatively wide on Mars because of lower gravity.

Thus, if there are Earth rocks on Mars, there will be far far fewer compared to the other way around.

--
Table-ized A.I.
Re:What's next by LittleGuy · 2004-01-22 06:56 · Score: 1

James Brolin, Sam Waterston, OJ, and Spirit run across the desert for their lives....

--
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
Re:What's next by KJSwartz · 2004-01-22 10:27 · Score: 1

Your biases are evident; it will take a LOT of investigation to prove gravity on Mars has been a relative constant over the millenias, meanwhile you've stated the mass of Mars has diminished. Did something catastrophic happen to Mars which planted extraterrestrial materials on Earth? These two exciting questions will soon be answered now that President Bush has planned an invasion of Mars and the subjugation of all Martians.

George W Bush's business card should read: President of United States of America and Emperor of Mars!

It is possible... by Ghengis · 2004-01-21 17:27 · Score: 2, Funny

However unlikely, it is entirely possible to find such a rock... the kicker would be finding a dinosaur fossil from earth on Mars!

--

"The best laid plans of mice and men gang oft agley..." - ROBERT BURNS

Re:It is possible... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 18:06 · Score: 1, Funny

No, the real kicker would be Spirit driving over a hill and seeing a half-buried Statue of Liberty.

As they say in the movies, "YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU! GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!"

what I want to know by martin-boundary · 2004-01-21 17:41 · Score: 1

Just WHAT exactly was that rock doing there, and was it covered by little green lichens?

Water from the Core by NeoTheOne · 2004-01-21 18:38 · Score: 1

It's just like Naboo...So THAT'S were George got it from... Now we can take a bongo to Mars and go thru "the plllaaannett ccooore"

obligatory... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 18:42 · Score: 0

In soviet Morocco Mars comes to you.

It had to be said . . . by sunspot42 · 2004-01-21 18:43 · Score: 0

In Soviet Russia, Mars rocks probe you!

hmm by prockcore · 2004-01-21 18:46 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Martian Rock found in Morocco, Classic Rock found on radio

"The Classic Rock would have been blasted out by Red Planet FM (103.1) and may hold clues to Music's rockin' past"

Re:hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:23 · Score: 0

Dude, that was fucking hilarious. Don't let the humorless dicks with mod points get you down, they'll get theirs in the metamoderation.
Re:hmm by Cackmobile · 2004-01-21 23:57 · Score: 1

yep. i agree with the other two. That was a good call.

--
-- Karma Karma Karma Karma, Karma Chameleon - Boy George

More clues. by AJWM · 2004-01-21 18:50 · Score: 1

may hold clues to Mars' watery past... scientists say the fragments are magmatic rocks.

Heck, they'd even more clues to Mars' water past if they were sedimentary rocks...

Igneous, Holmes!
Sedimentary, my dear Watson.

--
-- Alastair

Memo by cubicledrone · 2004-01-21 18:51 · Score: 4, Funny

Better turn down the power on Spirit's drive wheels.

--
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.

Re:Memo by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:08 · Score: 0

aww, sweet.... good one :)

I would have loved to send this rock into NASA. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 18:51 · Score: 2, Interesting

I would have loved to send this rock into Nasa's new rock collecting program, which allows kids to compare their rocks to those on mars by having them analyzed by the same instruments used by the rover.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/fe at ures/F_Schoolhouse_Rocks.html

Do you think NASA would give a kid back a rock it found to be from Mars?

Re:I would have loved to send this rock into NASA. by Basje · 2004-01-21 20:22 · Score: 1

The program tells kids to send in local rocks.

I imagine two scientists calling at the senders house, and a green kid with 4 arms opening the door. The look on their faces would be worth it...

--
the pun is mightier than the sword

Time for a superhero or villian to emerge by DARKFORCE123 · 2004-01-21 18:57 · Score: 0

Quick! Get some weakling to sleep next to the rock so that the rocks radiation will give him super powers!

cue music.. by smarthippy · 2004-01-21 18:58 · Score: 0

for those who didn't RTA, the rock is really big an d kinda infinitely smooth. here's a mirror of the primary photo.

funny by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 19:13 · Score: 0

come on, that was pretty funny. at least don't mod it offtopic, just fucking ignore it if you don't think it's funny. douchebag moderators. fucking idiots.

Re: Verne and Mars by some+guy+I+know · 2004-01-21 19:26 · Score: 1

What's really weird is that Jules Verne didn't write about going to Mars; he wrote about going to the Moon.
It would have been more appropriate to name it the "H. G. Wells" or the "Edgar Rice Burroughs".

--
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana

Mars - Eater of Spacecraft?? by _Hellfire_ · 2004-01-21 19:43 · Score: 1

Now it's Earth - Eater of Mars!

--
"And then I visited Wikipedia ...and the next 8 hours are a blur..."

Off Topic, But.... by Tsali · 2004-01-21 20:13 · Score: 1

Depends on the rock. :-)

--
This space for rent.

Re:Wow! That girl's pretty hot... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 20:16 · Score: 0

[Sorry, I originally AC'd this by accident.]

Is that so? Or are you just copy/pasting AC comments in some desperate bid for karma!?

I think we all know... by DrewCapu · 2004-01-21 20:20 · Score: 1

who is really behind this.

So it IS a hoax after all! by KamuSan · 2004-01-21 20:45 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Yesterday we joked that the Mars rover probably is crawling around in the Sahara.

So this news is really hilarious!
Because this can mean two things:
1. This rock somehow travelled from Mars to the Earth.
or
2. The rock has the same composition as rocks the Mars rover found, because the Mars rover IS crawling around in the Sahara!!

Apply Occam's razor and see which of the two is more probable....

Science == Religion? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 21:06 · Score: 0

The scientific process nowadays seems to consist of:
1. Find what supports what you want to believe; reject everything else.
2. Jump to conclusion.

or

1. make wild guess which supports funding scientific endeavors which will keep you and your friends happily employed.
2. find rock and tell everyone it comes from mars. (of course, better find some rocks from other planets since mars missions are pretty much funded already)

Re:Science == Religion? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 01:13 · Score: 0

3. ??????
4. Profit!!!
Re:Science == Religion? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 17:37 · Score: 0

Of course, most likely, it was all done to impress the babe in the photograph. This is the most plausible conclusion.

Martians in Morocco by ignavus · 2004-01-21 22:36 · Score: 1

I can understand why Martians would come to Morocco - it is a lot warmer in Morocco, but it still looks like Mars.

--
I am anarch of all I survey.

Re: Verne and Mars by fucksl4shd0t · 2004-01-21 22:45 · Score: 1

Um, can we name it the Hazel Stone?

Better yet, let's name it the Gwen Novak. ;)

--
Like what I said? You might like my music

This sounds like BS by G3ckoG33k · 2004-01-21 23:02 · Score: 1

This sounds like marvellous, just like the story on "the first piece of Mars" found in Antarctica.

1. If a metorite hits Mars it has a tremendeous speed, melting and/or vaporising anything in its vicinity.

2. Imagine that piece of molten Martian rock actually surpassing the gravity of Mars...

3. Imagine that piece of by now deep frozen rock actually hitting a Sun-orbiting Earth...

4. Imagine that piece of now frozen dirt entering the Earth's atmosphere, heating up again...

5. Imagine that now molten piece of shit hitting Earth at supersonic speed...

6. Imagine that pice of, by now, nothingness being found by someone, at all.

7. Imagine that series of incidents being given millions of dollars in funding by the Earth's most powerful government...

8. Imagine me believing in anything written above.

Re:This sounds like BS by tjw · 2004-01-22 03:19 · Score: 1

The team that found it was led by experienced meteorite hunters Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay, who have now found six rocks from Mars - a record.

9. Imagine this all happening not with one piece of nothingness, but six disctinct pieces, all miraculously found by the same two people.

--

XJS*C4JDBQADN1.NSBN3*2IDNEN*GTUBE-STANDARD-ANTI-UB E-TEST-EMAIL*C.34X
Re:This sounds like BS by PhuCknuT · 2004-01-22 03:31 · Score: 3, Insightful

Imagine a large asteroid hitting mars. There will be BILLIONS of pieces sent into an orbit similar to mars, many of which will then be gravtationally tossed into other orbits by mars itself. It's not hard to imagine many many of these eventually landing on earth within the billion years or so since then.

There are alot more than 6 pieces that have been found, these two people just happen to collect ALOT of meteorites and happen to know how to recognize a martian one. Of course it sounds like too much coincidence to be true when you think only 6 have hit earth and all been found by the same people, but in reality thousands and probably millions have hit earth, and many have been found and not recognized for what they are. It only makes sense that the people who know how to recognize them would find the most.
Re:This sounds like BS by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 04:46 · Score: 1, Informative

I'm gonna bite:

> 1. If a metorite hits Mars it has a tremendeous speed, melting and/or vaporising anything in its vicinity.

Not melting or vaporising. Melting some, vaporising some and heaving some solids. The rock had mars gas in it from volcanic processes ... it was heaved as a solid.

> 2. Imagine that piece of molten Martian rock actually surpassing the gravity of Mars...

Not hard considering the amount of kinetic energy you describe in #1.

> 3. Imagine that piece of by now deep frozen rock actually hitting a Sun-orbiting Earth...

If somebody threw a pebble at you from across a room they would have to be really lucky to hit you in the eye. Now if they threw a shovel full of sand it isn't your eye, but the grain of sand that lucked out. Lucky rock, it isn't one of those still floating around, but a bunch were bound to hit us.

> 4. Imagine that piece of now frozen dirt entering the Earth's atmosphere, heating up again...
> 5. Imagine that now molten piece of shit hitting Earth at supersonic speed...

Geologists have a very classic test to see if metorite claims are true or not. They ask you if the rock was hot or cold. Reentry heat is mostly carried away by albation and conduction to air. Once it lands, the overall average temperature of the rock is still really close to the 3K background temp. Quacks answer hot because they make the same mistake you do.

> 6. Imagine that pice of, by now, nothingness being found by someone, at all.

Only a few of the lucky ones have been found from the afore mentioned shovelful.

> 7. Imagine that series of incidents being given millions of dollars in funding by the Earth's most powerful government...
> 8. Imagine me believing in anything written above.

You are just sore that your welfare check ran out and the millions of dollars arn't being made available for you to get another bottle of Thunderbird.
Re:This sounds like BS by hyperstation · 2004-01-22 08:48 · Score: 1

You are just sore that your welfare check ran out and the millions of dollars arn't being made available for you to get another bottle of Thunderbird.

you were doing well, and then you blew it by saying something juvenile. nice...

Car keys found on Mars Lander site ... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-21 23:53 · Score: 0

Car keys found on Mars Lander site - please call NASA to reclaim.

ONE WORD by Orion442 · 2004-01-21 23:54 · Score: 1

Geysers

Re:ONE WORD by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 03:12 · Score: 0

We're talking about molten rock here.

Louis Frank's mini comet theory by PsiPsiStar · 2004-01-22 00:12 · Score: 1

I'm not sure I buy that most of the water on a planet comes from inside the planet.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990 10 6080737.htm

Do geologists account for water being added? Or, for that matter, water being lost through evaporation? I've always wondered if water in the upper atmosphere could dissasociate. The H+ ions are too weak to be held by the earth's gravity, and could 'boil' off.

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It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.

How did it get here? by loconet · 2004-01-22 01:12 · Score: 1

I think Beagle is now on its final communication stages. None of the conventional ones worked, now he's throwing rocks at us.

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[alk]

old? by djcdplaya · 2004-01-22 01:28 · Score: 1

This article seems like it should have been picked up a long time ago. Five seconds on google, and I came across this:

http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/news50.html

Dated Feb 12, 2003 from the University of Washington and NASA.

Now I know why... by Papatoast · 2004-01-22 01:57 · Score: 0

they call it More Rock Oh! ;-)

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We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. - HST

Re:Wow! That girl's pretty hot... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 02:44 · Score: 0

What if he is... jealous?

Re:Wow! That girl's pretty hot... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 02:53 · Score: 0

Maybe you think she's cute... but it seems that she was a graverobber, and he was a fossil hunter, before they realised that there was more money to be made from selling bits of space rock...

the scene is 100000 years in the future.. by panxerox · 2004-01-22 02:59 · Score: 1

a humanlike archeologist pick up a peice of rock on earth and says "this rock is from mars", after further examiation he says Wow ! Hurrah ! there's intellegent life on mars ! His associate says "how can you tell" the archeologist says "it's got this hunk of metal embedded in it that says "spirit!"

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"It's so convenient to have a system where everyone is a criminal" - A. Hitler

Re: Verne and Mars by some+guy+I+know · 2004-01-22 03:24 · Score: 1

Well, it looked like they wanted to name it after a real-life author, not after a fictional character.

I just thought that a Martian author would be more appropriate, considering.
If I were going to name it after an Heinleinian character, I would probably use "Podcayne".

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Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana

Wow! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 04:56 · Score: 0

She could Carine my Bidaut ANY day!!

Re: THIS JUST IN by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 05:16 · Score: 0

Mars Rover photograph reveals huge head of Statue of Liberty buried in the Martian soil!!

mars rock by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 05:34 · Score: 0

You put your weed in there...

Sombody please explain to me by PotatoHead · 2004-01-22 05:56 · Score: 1

how they can reasonably know this is a piece of mars?

I know millions of years brings the event into statistical probability, but I have my doubts.

How do they know for sure?

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Blogging because I can...

That's all folks by xtheunknown · 2004-01-22 06:07 · Score: 1

Maybe it was blasted into space by an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator?

I would really love to see Marvin Martian in one of the Spirit pictures!

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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

I'll be impressed by Libertarian_Geek · 2004-01-22 08:57 · Score: 1

When they can identify a rock from Morocco which they found on Mars.

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www.facebook.com/DareDefendOurRights

www.fairtax.org

Don't piss Mars off... by Pii · 2004-01-22 15:07 · Score: 1

Remember what they did to the planet that used to orbit between them and Jupiter!

Just try to grok the fullness of that!

--
For those that would die defending it, Freedom
has a sweet taste that the protected will never know.

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Martian Rock Found In Morocco

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