LOS ANGELES (Associated Press) — Scientists say NASA’s newest Mars rover has found signs that a stream once flowed across the surface near the site where it landed.
Curiosity touched down in a crater near the Martian equator last month. The red planet today is dusty and dry but scientists think it was once warmer and wetter.
Evidence of an ancient stream came from analyzing the size and shapes of pebbles and gravel near Gale Crater. Mission scientists said Thursday it appeared the water was fast-moving and deep.
Images from space have provided hints of a watery past at Curiosity’s landing site. The latest discovery on the ground confirms that.
Curiosity is headed toward a spot where three types of terrain meet. Its ultimate destination is a mountain rising from the center of the crater.
Rock formations revealing watery past
NASA Mars Science Laboratory — In this image from NASA’s Curiosity rover, a rock outcrop called Link pops out from a Martian surface that is elsewhere blanketed by reddish-brown dust. The fractured Link outcrop has blocks of exposed, clean surfaces. Rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters) in size are in a matrix of white material. Many gravel-sized rocks have eroded out of the outcrop onto the surface, particularly in the left portion of the frame. The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together. Water transport is the only process capable of producing the rounded shape of clasts of this size.
Dry Steambed Rocks on Mars (left) and Earth (right)
“A long-flowing stream can be a habitable environment. … This is insurance that we have already found our first potentially habitable environment.” — Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger (Space.com)
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89 Responses to Mars: Ancient Stream Bed Found
Now on The Trail
WooHoo!
Leftovers from previous thread:
All the complaining about the Predators, becomes complaining about war.
Logical or illogical, concise or rambling, intuitive or based on hard data, it is all complaint about war.
And, it is all right. War sucks. I don’t know how to stop all of it, so I am resigned to some of it. It still sucks.
I can’t wait for the nude grinch to start the colony/orphanage up there.
We can start the fish camp beside the stream. Fly fishing for sand trout. Ahhh. Those will be the days.
Well, if it’s true that irrefutable evidence of the past existence of water has been found on the extraterrestrial planet commonly referred to as “Mars”, then I would assert that that is the most significant scientific discovery in human history, up to this point!
yep xrepub, can’t wait to play some Willie Nelson on our Trail Mix Martian Fish Camp
this find confirms NASA’s skill at picking just the right area to explore, and more to come. it was probably a billion years ago or more, but we’re ever closer to proving there really was life (of some sort) on Mars. Why does it matter? For starters, learning about evolution on a planet that increasingly seems to have been once similar to ours could teach us a thing or two about how to save our own.
I’m pouring a nice tall glass of water, offering a toast to NASA and all their partners. To geeks everywhere! They sure do more for us than idiot NFL refs.
thinking it probably takes a while to properly marinate a sand trout for grilling. Chef Emeril needs to get on this.
We better hurry up according to CBob
I’ve stared watching revolution for survival tips
dry rub only for sand trout
breaking news: mars rover has found signs roughly translated as save the rain forests, boycott dams and recycle water
Champ, I’d say it would be the most significant discovery if and only if there are indications of telescopes pointed towards the third planet.
Gotta remember to take my kayak when I visit.
Can’t rounded rocks be formed by erosion from sandstorms?
Nash, that’s close to “Where does life come from?” Which on Mars may be the same damn thing, practically speaking.
Craig,
Great thread.! But wait, wait one 59 second minuto.
We need to do a lot of prep work before we can go on to our next home…..and Flatus is right…better go on to the next choice.
Like Chloe likes to say….”:baby steps” first we must get to the moon. The we must get to Mars. Maybe be then we would have found our new mother earth to fk up….but it will all take quite some time no?
I can go on and on…I love this stuff. C Bob can rest assure that when we mess up this planet city by city….there will large ones in the future that will rise up for miles and miles.
Citys that we will not have to go anywhere for the want of anything….all under one roof. Building columns made from air. Farms that will produce the foods of that city alone….along with a porcess of how to eat excrement….don’t laugh, that will be normal by then….lots exiting stuff to happen in our evolutionary process….
Now how r we going to get there? and how long will it take…lets say that it will take about 100 yrs or so….what kind of space craft will be needed…and who will build it…..Government, or private industry (by the way…this is why imo…nasa, and other gov, programs are going to take big hits)…..probably a combination, of the two, I hope.
Bethyboo and I already have two reservations…going to freez our bodys, and the ol cabezas during our flight…so we can get out and walk around a little, and not die of old age…around 200 years or so…
We will be able to grow our own ( the space industry that is) flight attendants….
We will have to have them grow 4 arms with hands…just so the can get around by grabbing unto something….we can do that right now if we wanted to…..weve done it with the…….forgot the name…fly something or other….but we better get a start on all of this….and that is why this is great news….but Mars is just like any other star….if there used to be water on it….billions of years ago, she going to blow up pretty soon……..Hey Bethy….Teach…U ready?
Last one for a while.
Pogo,
“Where does life come from?”
Enzimes, water, all the chemicals needed for it……..on big as rocks that pelted the earth into shape when they fused together….
“Cosmos moon”…..loved that movie with Sher….our moon was made out of earth stuff, when a huge meteorite like planet took a wrong turn and chipped a piece out of our earth…..gravity took care of the rest…..
Mars is one of the four terrestrial planets. Why would you be surprised to find evidence of the past existence of water on such a planet in our solar system?
“around 200 years or so…”
We will be around 200 yrs….but space travel the next stop will be around 100 yrs….haven’t done the math…light yrs and all but……..
Today’s Daily Kos has a GREAT article analyzing why Romney is losing. It’s called “Romney is a Dick.” (You have to scroll down a bit. It’s the second or third story from the top.)
Don’t be fooled by the adolescent terminology, this is a really, really good analysis, the best I’ve seen on why Romney is losing.http://www.dailykos.com/
My favorite “Twilight Zone” episode, “Will the Real Martian Stand up?”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1U12d1Olo8
What Obama isn’t saying about Medicare
by Johnathon Martin
It was the fruit fly. Give or take a few yrs. thirty yrs ago they could manipulate the fruit fly’s dna so as to enable them to grow extra arms, legs, eyes in any part of the fly as they wished……just remembered.
Karl Rove is now claiming the polls are wrong.
I think it’s your math Karl… Mittens isn’t getting all of what should be his base.
Of course Karl is complaining because the voter suppression numbers are not included…he calls it inflating the Democratic vote
The goopers are trying to make the death of Chris Stevens a political issue…and f--king Affront Burnout
is quoting the Washington Times???????
And if you are just listening to Bob Corker he sounds like Barney Fife
Some unsolicited advice to the goopers -- don’t use the exit polls showing Kerry winning as an example of how polls are often wrong…a lot of people think the polls were right and that Ken Blackwell stole Ohio for Shrub
You are just going to annoy more people
Gosh where is Mary Matalin and all the other establishment goops who said Akin would be out. The country clubbers she claimed have all the money and always get what they want. People need to show her score. She is very rarely correct.
Nash, I used to enjoy My Favorite Martian on AFRTS.
Holly shit !
I have more geological experience than all of you combined.
That is a stream bed in the western U.S. Notice how the flow of water sorts the rocks & sand.
Notice the rocks, once they were round, water made them, …… you can buy a bag at home depot for $4.00 , but the water cycle stopped along time age , and the wind has been grinding on this stuff for “Billions” of years.
This is before life arose on Earth , streams were flowing on Mars.
Dear Young Crawford -
God bless you for getting this bug in your head. I really feel pride in America , when we take 3-D pictures on other worlds.
For a country in decline this is pretty snappy stuff.
But I got my red wagon out of moth-balls in the 5th grade to drag my mother’s portable T.V. 3 blocks to class, so at about 8:30 A.M.
…….. We got out of “school” , and watched missile failure, after missile failure.
Tomorrow, my younger nephew will sail into “tomorrow”. They are 2,500 miles West of Seattle. Crossing the North Pacific. 1,380 passengers .
I am trilled that my nephew has “wander lust”. It’s a strong theme in our family.
Current position of M/S Amsterdam
1380 Passengers
http://craigcrawford.com/2012/09/27/mars-ancient-stream-found/#comment-299270
ABC continues to say the presidential race is neck and neck and that the debates are make or break. They did not give a single poll number.
What a pile of poop
Jake Tapper has awakened from his depression because he can criticize Obamarama about the death of Ambassador Stevens he is trying to make it into watergate. I saw him doing guest appearances on Fox News…gee what a surprise
The Super Typhoon in their way -
http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/warnings/wp1812.gif
He’s eating sea sick pills. On a very big boat.
Runningmoney is
………. He lost one debate against a baboon troop from the worst America makes.
I really love all this Martian geology. However, the water is now gone, frozen at the poles. Or….
Down below….
Metaphor Alert -
But above all , Runningmoney is …………
Snake Bit
When the snake bites you , you loose your courage .
It’s down right “Greek” in it’s irony.
Only heroes overcome being snake bit.
Runningmoney may commander his own plane, and fly to Cuba before this is over.
Hi everyone! I loved reading all your thoughts.Just as unique as the last time I checked in. I’m living waaay down in Port Charlotte Fl, on the Gulf and Craig. About 2 hours from where your Parents are?
Love to all,
Chef Sheila
Know doubt, it will have screen doors when it lands in that insect infested land.
A very interesting article for those who enjoy being challenged.
Jude Wanniski’s Electoral Model Points To An Obama Landslide
Attention everyone :
chefsheila ……. Is the reason we try not to say “fuck” on Young Crawford”s blogs.
And she was first follower . She voted with her keyboard , and herded us away from calling each other ” Ignorant Fuckheads”.
The right wing nutcase relatives are getting desperate. The last time I heard anybody sound like they do is in 1972 with the democratic left wing nuts.
I told them I had a $100 to cover any bet they might want to make on Romney, waiting for a reply.
Jack
At least that’s the way I remember it.
This would make 40 years since we’ve seen them.
Jack -
I live the county where Judge Head said that if we elect Obama again “Civil War” will break out.
These people, will shoot a bunch of local cops, long before the Feda arrive.
Why ?
Because change has ripped the bark off them.
One more thing ……
This joking about bacon , it’s not funny . This is a break down of our food web . 2 years ago when Russia stopped shipping grain , 2 years later , we lost .3% of our GDP in June because of the same thing.
This will not stop even we all die tomorrow. That’s how hot we have made the world.
Jack, thanks for posting about Mr Wanniski. Here’s his really interesting WaPo obit from Aug 30, 2005:
“Jude Wanniski, 69, a contrarian editorialist and economic consultant who became an early champion of supply-side economics, died Aug. 29 at a hospital in Morristown, N.J., after an apparent heart attack.”
The real monsters are coming out of the wood work.
Gaze on the pictures of Mars, and know what a dead water planet looks like.
Gaze on the pictures of Venus , it’s 900F degrees and has a 92% Co2 content in it atmosphere.
These are our closest neighbors in space. Our atmosphere is not a punching bag.
Gaze on the Moon , it has zero atmosphere , and rides along with us. You gonna put 7 Billion humans there ?
Too bad all our believers don’t worship our thin shell of gases.
I still can’t believe Runningmoney didn’t know that corporate jets fly at 45,000 feet . And this is why electric windows in them don’t roll down like a Rolls.
I think Runningmoney got his degrees because he was rich . Not “Indian” like Liz Warren.
Runningmoney, Liz, and Obama all when to Harvard .
That’s the subject of a real good book.
I received an application in the mail today for an absentee ballot for the November election. The ballot was included inside a mailing that bashed the Democratic Party. The ballot was funded by the Michigan Republican Party. Also, I saw a billboard on I-96 that read: “President Obama supports gay marriage and abortion. Do you?” It was bought by some Republican Super PAC from Michigan.
Buy the way , on the stump today …….. Obama , mentioned his mother .
And he called her “a single mother”.
He never drew on that well before .
Oh, I’m not surprised at all. I just think it is so significant because extraterrestrial water implies extraterrestrial life, which invalidates the dogma of the three dominant Abrahamaic religions. Now we can all collectively move on with our lives! Yay!
We are going to have to find a new opiate for the masses, though. Virtual-Reality porn or something, I dunno.
In case you’re too stupid to understand. American is packed with “single mothers”.
Are there Goodwill stores in Rome? I’m thinking I could get a good deal on some gold-embroidered Papal vestments, after they dissolve the Church and donate all their assets, which should happen any minute, now…
Ooh, and some really nice tile from all the mosques… maybe put in a nice kitchen backsplash.
Champ, it’s not extraterrestrial. Although at some point in time scientists hope to find some evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. But, still, it’s just a plain old terrestrial planet like ours.
Ignoble exChamp -
Sheila is the reason I don’t call you “IFH” every time you comment.
Only an “IFH” would write this …….
Bah, you stickler! I was equating “extraterrestrial” with “Earth-based”: it’s slightly more poetic. Point taken, however.
Edit: Actually “terrestrial” = “Earth” (“terra” meaning Earth in a bunch of languages) and therefore, “extraterrestrial” = “out-of-Earth”. Bah.
Ignoble exChamp -
I am an “IFH” as well.
Oh, I have harsher invectives for you than that, Bob, but I keep them to myself because I know how sensitive you are. Thanks for the heads-up, though.
Ok, have a good night, all!
Ignoble exChamp -
When sun sets tomorrow night , a thin shell of gases keep you from a cold dark space.
Unfortunately, this is one of the places where we have to be sticklers for the scientific terminology. If you want to think terra as being earth, make sure it’s small ‘e’ earth and you’ll be okay as earth is a characteristic of terrestrial planets. Very high-density gaseous structures is characteristic of extraterrestrial ones.
Igy C. said:
http://craigcrawford.com/2012/09/27/mars-ancient-stream-found/#comment-299294
“Oh, I’m not surprised at all. I just think it is so significant because extraterrestrial water implies extraterrestrial” life, which invalidates the dogma of the three dominant Abrahamaic religions. Now we can all collectively move on with our lives! Yay.!”
I thought it, but glad that you said it. Every time i say something that is against what is written as fact or “true history” in the book of myths.
I can expect a great deal of contradiction; which makes it a lot of fun; or aggravation; depends on how its played out…but in the long run, its all fun no?
Im going to take it a little further: Now can we stop giving Jerusalem all that $ to start the Armageddon?
If they (jerusalem) aren’t living in the promised land…can we make them stop building vacation homes in Palestine…(maybe draw a red time- line, and nuke em if the don’t stop)
Nope……no matter what proof is in front of true believers, they won’t be able to “handle the truth” jeje).
Hey just thought of something…if they won’t believe that they are on the promised land……will they want to become American citizens?…will they want to bring the 300 or so nukes that they have?…they will U know. The aipac lobby can do anything…..
Tony, Mqw, the end of those three (Abrahamic) religions will be the end of war
C bob….come on, what is the matter with U……..Maybe not mars…but some where else no?…..even know i still have some doubts about us landing on the moon… not all the time…but sometimes, you just revived that doubt in me…
But i still believe, wether this pic of mars is real or not….that it did at one time have life on it. Why would meteorites just bring it to earth. Just a cpl of the basics chemicals.
That planet was not a goldie locks planet like ours…but some form of basic life ingredients were part of it…had water and……..
A word of advice from someone who is paranoid.
If you did not request an absentee and one is sent to you do not throw it away. If you are not going to vote absentee than hold on to it until you go to your polling place and bring it with you. WHY?????
It’s rumored that the Republicans are sending out absentee ballots to a lot of voters who did not ask for one and who will probably vote at the polls. If you receive one and show up at the polls they may refuse to allow you to vote since you received an absentee ballot and therefore they will say that you already voted.
Without the absentee ballot to turn in to them unmarked you will have no way to prove that you have not already voted and they can legally deny you the right to vote because you have received a ballot and therefore you have already voted according to them.
If you take it to the poll the same way it came to you, unmarked with no choices made, you have proof that you have not voted yet and they will have no choice to deny you your right to vote.
Also I would suggest that you also take with you a copy of your birth certificate, a current bill proving your residency as proof that you are a American Citizen and have every legal right to cast a ballot for your candidates if they challenge your right to vote.
They will use any means they can to suppress as many votes as they can so $Rmoney will have a better chance of winning the state.
I know that if anyone challenges me and my right to vote I will ask whomever it is to prove to me that heshe has the right to challenge me. I will ask for proof that they are a American Citizen and have the right to not only challenge my rights or deny me my rights, as well as demand that they produce Their Papers to prove they have the right to challenge me.
So in conclusion if you receive a absentee ballot you did not request and are not going to use it, do not discard it but take it with you to return unused to your polling station and get a receipt for it.
If you are not going to vote in person than by all means fill it out and return it to your local Supervisors Office or mail it in Certified, Return Receipt Requested.
Have a great evening.
Alright, I guess its time to spill the beans.
You see at one time Mars was inhabited many, many years ago. You know before the Right Wing American Taliban Evangelical Christians pushed the theory that Planet Earth was only 10,000 years old. I believe that’s what their claiming though I could be wrong, which is a far shorter time than science tells us about our planet.
At that time, Mars the Homeland was a lush green planet, with a clear blue sky, clean blue waters and clean air.
Then the Rightwing Martians decided that it did not matter what they did to the Homeland and began to slowly poison the air and water in Worship of their God Mammon. Eventually the planet could no longer support life as we know it and they know that they would have to find another home if they were to survive.
So using their advanced technology they searched for another planet that was once as lush and beautiful as their home Mars and began to slowly migrate to a new Homeland that they called Earth.
So here we are billions of years later and now we find ourselves in the same situation that we found ourselves in then. The same people who destroyed our former Homeland have taken over the Government again and with the same policies they augmented billions of years ago we find that our new planet is now in its last throes and my end up dying, as our previous Homeland Mars did.
Due to the greed and depravity in the Worship of Their God Mammon they may have ended up in destroying what we now call the Human Race.
So you see we are all Martians and if we do not find a new Homeland once again we will soon become extinct.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Have a great evening….
And may I wish my favorite commenter and dear friend Chef Sheila a very happy and warm welcome.
May you always have the Hand of the Lord watching over you. God Bless
“I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.”
Naftaly Birnbaum, better known as George Burns (1896-1996)
Amen
Now I go back to my nephew, who is steaming towards the most powerful storm the planet as seen this year. 150 mph tonight .
Good night too all TM’ers and …
Have a great evening.
The JTWC site tonight ………
http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/satshots/18W_272332sams.jpg
What you should should know, this is part of a much larger story. Every fall giant low pressure systems will march North to the Arctic, they are doing this because huge amounts of heat are moving from the oceans to a condenser. If you don’t believe me , check the weather in Britain, and Alaska this past month.
Remember heat flows to cold, ………. This is why your milk is cold , when you open the white box we alll grew-up with.
One does not add cold, one removes heat . The Earth does the same thing. And the entire Universe works the same way , it never adds cold, it just moves heat toward a state of being cold.
Bob, what does this mean ?
It means every fall large amounts of heat will leave the oceans in the form of low pressure systems , and march north to a place colder than where they came from.
There is NO upper limit on how violent this can get .
Seward, Alaska has caught over 30 inches rain this month , and another deep low is marching North.
There is NO upper limit on how violent this can get .
The Typhoon, I am worrying about with my nephew, had gusts to 195 mpg 3 days ago.
There is NO upper limit on how violent this can get .
I formed a theory , this world will make “baseball hail” so far this year, just 5 storms have cost One Billion Dollars.
From Canada to Mexico.
Hail is the greatest pay-out the American Underwriters have ever dealt will . Baseball hail will bankrupt them.
Baseball hail will bankrupt them.
Here, the heat from oceans isn’t moving north, to the condenser. It’s going up , to 65,000 feet, this means your house can be beat to a pulp in 20 mins. When frozen ice falls from 50,00 feet , you’ll need a new roof and a paint job & windshield on your car.
The silver lining … All the deniers get their brains beat to shit as well.
Think I’m full of shit, Google the hail storm at McCallllen, Texas this Spring. Right next to the Gulf of Mexico.
In Canada, a storm brought $300 Million dollars in damage.
All 5 of them had hail stones , the size of baseballs.
As I said, the one silver lining ……. This shit falls on the deniers too.
The current storm marching on to land in Alaska , after an entire month of storm after storm ….
11:09 AM ET, 09/27/2012
Textbook storm explodes near Alaska
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/textbook-storm-explodes-near-alaska/2012/09/27/566770d0-08b0-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_blog.html
This is nature moving ever increasing heat to coldest condenser it can find, don’t believe me , check the weather in Britain
THIS IS NEW NORMAL.
THIS IS NEW NORMAL.
Last week in Alaska, the wind speeds were 90 mph.
Build your cabin to deal with that. It’s a whole new problem .
Your roof won’t make it through that . And you don’t have the cash to pay for this event.
As I said --
I am waiting for their big brains to solve the problem.
In the mean time, think about having your world blown away.
Because that is coming up your street.
Make plans.
One more time …….. Runningmoney beat out a troop of American Baboons , he is not the “great debater” CNN says he is.
I think he’s near placing a pistol to his wife’s head , and demanding to be flown to Cuba, with an airplane that has screen doors on the windows.
I am still a funny fucker , after all these tears.
3:43 is spit your coffee in the screen funny.