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Martian Rocks Land In Morocco

Posted by Soulskill on from the never-been-jealous-of-morocco-before dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Scientists have confirmed chemically a recent and rare invasion from Mars with 15 pounds of fresh Martian rocks falling in Morocco last July. A special committee of meteorite experts, which includes some NASA scientists, confirmed the test results Tuesday certifying that the meteorites recently collected came from Mars. The biggest rock weighs more than 2 pounds. Astronomers think that millions of years ago something big smashed into Mars that sent fragments hurtling through the solar system. Occasionally, some fall on Earth."

3 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The chances of anything coming from Mars... by Ransom1969 · · Score: 5, Informative

    These folks are quoting War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, InternetGuy. It's a joke.

  2. Re:And people wonder... by bmo · · Score: 5, Informative

    Because of their composition, numbnuts. You know, inorganic chemistry is a good place to start.

    Start here.

    https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=mars+meteorites+minerals

    http://www.imca.cc/mars/martian-meteorites.htm

    Try reading something for a change instead of immediately dismissing things you don't instantly understand.

    --
    BMO

  3. Re:And people wonder... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 3, Informative

    Don't get me wrong, I agree with you. That said, it is worthwhile to question so-called experts to find out how they came to their conclusions, rather than saying, "Gosh, he's smarter than me--he's get letters after his name and everything!" At the very least, you learn something.

    Of course, if he had RTFA, he might have a clue about how these people determined that these rocks came from Mars:

    Scientists can tell when meteorites are from Mars because they know what the Martian atmosphere is made of, thanks to numerous probes sent there. The chemical signature of the rocks and the Martian air match, Irving said. Another clue is that because planets like Mars are more geologically active, its rocks tend to be much younger - millions of years old instead of hundreds of millions or more - than those from the moon or asteroids.

    So, no, it's not like they said, "A rock fell from the sky! It must have been from Mars!"