NASA·APOD每日天文一图2022.6.20 [超高清]

火星上的手指状岩石

There, just right of center, what is that? The surface of Mars keeps revealing new surprises with the recent discovery of finger-like rock spires. The small nearly-vertical rock outcrops were imaged last month by the robotic Curiosity rover on Mars. Although similar in size and shape to small snakes, the leading explanation for their origin is as conglomerations of small minerals left by water flowing through rock crevices. After these relatively dense minerals filled the crevices, they were left behind when the surrounding rock eroded away. Famous rock outcrops on Earth with a similar origin are called hoodoos. NASA's Curiosity Rover continues to search for new signs of ancient water in Gale Crater on Mars, while also providing a geologic background important for future human exploration. 

在那里，就在中间的右边，那是什么？随着最近发现的手指状岩石尖顶，火星表面不断显示出新的惊喜。上个月，火星上的好奇号机器人拍摄到了这些几乎垂直的小岩石露头。虽然在大小和形状上与小蛇相似，但对其起源的主要解释是水流过岩石裂缝留下的小矿物的团块。当这些相对致密的矿物填满裂缝后，当周围的岩石被侵蚀掉时，它们就被留下了。地球上著名的岩石露头有着相似的起源，被称为胡德乌斯。美国宇航局的好奇号探测器继续在火星盖尔陨石坑中寻找古代水的新迹象，同时也为未来人类探索提供了重要的地质背景。