Categories: MarsMeteorites

Oppy’s New Meteorite Find (in 3-D!)

[/caption]

The Opportunity rover has done it again — found another strange-looking rock sitting on Meridiani Planum, and it looks like another meteorite. “The dark color, rounded texture and the way it is perched on the surface all make it look like an iron meteorite,” said Matt Golombek from the MER science team. Unofficially named “Oileán Ruaidh” (pronounced ay-lan ruah), which is the Gaelic name (translated: Red Island) for an island off the coast of northwestern Ireland. The rock is about the size of a toaster: 45 centimeters (18 inches) wide from the angle at which it was first seen. Stu Atkinson has posted some enhanced images of the rock on his website, Road to Endeavour, which I have nabbed and posted here. Thanks Stu! The 3-D version above looks awesome with the red/green glasses. And look for more detailed images of the rock on his site soon, as Opportunity comes in for a closer look. UPDATE: As promised, Stu has provided an enhanced close-up of this rock, below.

Close up of a rock on Mars, possibly another meteorite. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell, enhanced by Stu Atkinson

Here’s an extreme close-up of Oileán Ruaidh, and it certainly has that “iron meteorite” look about it. It almost looks like the head of a craggy old snapping turtle!

Opportunity's panoramic camera's view of a dark rock that may be an iron meteorite. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University, enhanced by Stuart Atkinson

Read more about the rock at JPL’s website.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/

Recent Posts

Are Fast Radio Bursts Caused by Interstellar Objects Crashing Into Neutron Stars?

Astronomers have only been aware of fast radio bursts for about two decades. These are…

2 hours ago

Here’s How to Weigh Gigantic Filaments of Dark Matter

How do you weigh one of the largest objects in the entire universe? Very carefully,…

5 hours ago

How Could Astronauts Call for Help from the Moon?

Exploring the Moon poses significant risks, with its extreme environment and hazardous terrain presenting numerous…

17 hours ago

There Was a 15 Minute Warning Before Tonga Volcano Exploded

Volcanoes are not restricted to the land, there are many undersea versions. One such undersea…

17 hours ago

Main Sequence and White Dwarf Binaries are Hiding in Plain Sight

Some binary stars are unusual. They contain a main sequence star like our Sun, while…

19 hours ago

What a Misplaced Meteorite Told Us About Mars

11 million years ago, Mars was a frigid, dry, dead world, just like it is…

21 hours ago