Planet Four Talk

Please don't kill me....I have an "off-topic" image question for any science team member.

  • AUricle by AUricle

    Here it is....
    Last week, I pointed out a very 'different' rock in one of the Curiousity images from Sol 147 which had been dubbed "Snake River". This rock appeared deeply etched in a criss-cross pattern, so that it looked somewhat like a 'pine-cone'. It was so interesting that I posed a question about it on one of NASA/JPL's question boards ......The image is here; http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00147/opgs/edr/ncam/NRA_410546009EDR_F0051902NCAM05703M_.JPG Now, I understand from this--> http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-readying-drill-mars-212443048.html that NASA has singled it out as target 'A' for further study and/or drilling. Could it be that my calling attention to it caused NASA to take a closer look??? If so, I'm REALLY excited about it!! Can I find out,somehow?.... And, is it really possible for our work here to be 'noticed'?
    I'm NOT talking about 'fame'.......but the satisfaction of knowing your efforts matter, is a real kick! Know what I mean?

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  • wassock by wassock moderator in response to AUricle's comment.

    Which rock are you looking at? - the one below the flat surface on the right? My eye was immediately drawn to the rock more or less central with 3 dark marks on it - looks like some ones had a go at it with a digger

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  • wassock by wassock moderator

    It's Ok looked at the other link and can see your rock now. The one I was asking about looks like its set up for a game of noughts and crosses (tictactoe)

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  • AUricle by AUricle

    @wassock,
    The rock is identified as exhibit 'A' in this photo, http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-readying-drill-mars-212443048.html .... both in the wide angle shot and the tight, inset photos on the far right. Sounds like you found it anyway.
    As a funny side note, the rock identified as 'B' has been dubbed "Fred Flintstone's house".......and it truly does look like it....LOL!

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  • michaelaye by michaelaye scientist

    I had a chat with the science team leader of Curiosity (Ashwin Vasavada) a few months ago, and he told me that it's unbelievably hard to keep the 'herd' of scientists pulling in one direction and keeping the mission goals as top priority without ogling too many things on the way. So my feeling is, as the science team of Curiosity is actually unusually large, there's no way a somehow interesting feature stays unnoticed. The opposite indeed: it's always hard to stay on course, because everybody sees something interesting everywhere. So I would not put my hopes of having an impact too high for the NASA question boards too high. But HERE, here you'll have a real impact, at least as part of the 'wisdom of the crowd' effect, that just can't be beaten by any single person, no scientist or anybody. (Look for the BBC2 programs on math, where they show that the 'mass' can even estimate uncountable numbers of balls in a bowl, while no single person ever would be able to do it. This program blew my mind! )

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  • MarsGazer by MarsGazer

    @Michaelaye on that same not as you mention though, i take it much more pictures of mars were taken, and even though currently we are mapping CO2 fans & blotches (+ other interesting stuff we come across) ... any chance this 'group effort' may be extended to include other area's of mars, just to have an army of monkey's with keyboard go over them?

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  • AUricle by AUricle in response to michaelaye's comment.

    Michael,
    Thanks for responding.
    Without knowing the size of the Curiousity "herd", I'd still have to agree. If some "jamoke" like me could spot something, it HAD TO BE spotted by many vastly more qualified team members there.
    I must have been having an "ego attack".
    Anyway, it's good to hear a little bit about how it all works from a person on the 'inside'

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