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Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 5 min read
Sols 4473-4474: So Many Rocks, So Many Textures!
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) of a boulder about 40 meters (about 131 feet) away from the rover at the time. Curiosity acquired the image, showing the variety of structures and textures around the rover, on March 5, 2025 — sol 4471, or Martian day 4,471 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 01:47:03 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University
Earth planning date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
The Martian landscape never ceases to amaze me, there is so much variation in texture and color! As a mineralogist, I marvel at them, but my colleagues trained in sedimentology regularly teach me how to see even more than the beauty of them: they can discern whether the materials that make up a rock were transported and laid down by the action of water or wind. The image above shows a rather unusual texture alongside more normal-looking laminated rocks. Just compare the small, brighter block in the foreground with the darker bigger rock in the center of the image. How should we interpret it? Well, that jury is still out. Are they sedimentary textures formed when the rock first was laid down, or shortly after, or are they textures that formed much later when water entered the rock and formed new minerals in the already existing rock? The latter would be more my area of research, and they are often called concretions. And I vividly remember the first concretions a rover ever found, the “blueberries.” Curiosity, of course, found many concretions, too. There is an interesting comparison between rocks that the Mars Exploration rover Opportunity found, and the one that Curiosity found very early in the mission, back at Yellowknife Bay. We have seen many more since, and the above might be another example.
The landscape directly around the rover today also has some interesting textures and, most important, some more regular-looking bedrock targets. Bedrock is what the team perceives to be the rocks that make up the part of the hill we are driving through. The dark blocks, like the one above, that are also strewn occasionally in the path of the rover are called float rocks, and we always look higher up into the hills to find out where they might have come from. As interesting as all those blocks and boulders are, they pose a huge challenge for the rover drivers. Today, they had managed to get us all the way to the intended stopping point, which in itself is a huge achievement. A mixture of large rocks and sand is just not conducive to any form of travel, and I always wonder how tiring it would be to just walk through the area. But we made it to the intended stopping point, driving just under 20 meters (about 65 feet), as intended. Unfortunately though, one of the rover’s wheels was perched on a rock in ways that posed a risk of dropping off that rock during an arm move. So, as is usual in those cases, we accept that contact science is not possible. The risk would just be too great that the rover moves just at the wrong moment and the arm bumps into the rock that an instrument is investigating at that moment. So, safety first, we decided to keep the arm tucked in and focus on remote science.
The team quickly pivoted to add some remote science to the already existing observations. As you might imagine in a terrain as interesting as this, Mastcam did get a workout. There are seven different observations in the plan! It looks into the distance to the Texoli Butte we are observing as we drive along it, and at a target, “Brown Mountain.” Looking into the many different features are also imaging activities on the targets “Placerita Canyon,” “Humber Park,” and two others just named “trough,” which is a descriptive term for little trough features the team is tracking for a while with the quest to better understand their formation. ChemCam has a LIBS investigation on target “Inspiration Point,” and two long-distance RMI (Remote Micro Imager) observations. One is truly at a long distance on Gould Mesa, another of the mounts we are observing as we go along. There is another RMI activity closer to the rover, to investigate more of those very interesting structures.
We also have environmental observations in the plan, observing the opacity of the atmosphere and of REMS investigations are occurring throughout the plan. REMS is our “weather station” measuring atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, winds, and ultraviolet radiation levels. DAN looks at the surface to measure the water and chlorine content in the rocks that the rover traverses over and RAD is looking up to the sky to measure the radiation that reaches the Martian surface. We do not often mention those in our blocks, because we are so used to seeing them there every single sol, doing their job, quietly in the background.
With so much to do, the only remaining question was where to drive. That was discussed at length, weighing the different science reasons to go to places along the path, and after much deliberation we decided to go to one of the float rocks, but reserve the option to make a right turn in the next plan, to get to another interesting place. All those discussions are so important to make sure we are making the most of the power we have at this cold time of the year, and getting all the science we can get. I am excited to see the data from today’s plan… and to find out where we end up. Not with a wheel on a rock, please, Mars — that would be a good start. But if we do, I am absolutely confident there will be lots to investigate anyway!
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By USH
In the depths of the ocean, where countless strange fish and creatures dwell in perpetual darkness, they remain unseen, unless unexpectedly caught. This was the case during an expedition by a Russian deep-sea fisherman, who was stunned when he reeled in a bizarre creature that strikingly resembled an alien’s head.
The eerie catch was made by Roman Fedortsov during an expedition in the northern Pacific Ocean.
The fisherman shared the video of the strange creature with his followers, with viewers comparing the bulbous fish to an extraterrestrial or even Krang, the villain from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Fisherman Fedortsov has previously made headlines thanks to other weird and wonderful catches which you can view at Dailymail.
Despite its eerie appearance, the fish was not an alien or a mutant but rather a species known as the smooth lumpsucker, a deep-sea fish recognized for its distinctive, gelatinous look.
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By NASA
Explore This Section Webb News Latest News Latest Images Blog (offsite) Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Exposes Complex Atmosphere of Starless Super-Jupiter
This artist’s concept shows what the isolated planetary-mass object SIMP 0136 could look like based on recent observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and previous observations from Hubble, Spitzer, and numerous ground-based telescopes. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, and Joseph Olmsted (STScI) An international team of researchers has discovered that previously observed variations in brightness of a free-floating planetary-mass object known as SIMP 0136 must be the result of a complex combination of atmospheric factors, and cannot be explained by clouds alone.
Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to monitor a broad spectrum of infrared light emitted over two full rotation periods by SIMP 0136, the team was able to detect variations in cloud layers, temperature, and carbon chemistry that were previously hidden from view.
The results provide crucial insight into the three-dimensional complexity of gas giant atmospheres within and beyond our solar system. Detailed characterization of objects like these is essential preparation for direct imaging of exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.
Rapidly Rotating, Free-Floating
SIMP 0136 is a rapidly rotating, free-floating object roughly 13 times the mass of Jupiter, located in the Milky Way just 20 light-years from Earth. Although it is not classified as a gas giant exoplanet — it doesn’t orbit a star and may instead be a brown dwarf — SIMP 0136 is an ideal target for exo-meteorology: It is the brightest object of its kind in the northern sky. Because it is isolated, it can be observed with no fear of light contamination or variability caused by a host star. And its short rotation period of just 2.4 hours makes it possible to survey very efficiently.
Prior to the Webb observations, SIMP 0136 had been studied extensively using ground-based observatories and NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.
“We already knew that it varies in brightness, and we were confident that there are patchy cloud layers that rotate in and out of view and evolve over time,” explained Allison McCarthy, doctoral student at Boston University and lead author on a study published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. “We also thought there could be temperature variations, chemical reactions, and possibly some effects of auroral activity affecting the brightness, but we weren’t sure.”
To figure it out, the team needed Webb’s ability to measure very precise changes in brightness over a broad range of wavelengths.
Graphic A: Isolated Planetary-Mass Object SIMP 0136 (Artist’s Concept)
This artist’s concept shows what the isolated planetary-mass object SIMP 0136 could look like based on recent observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and previous observations from Hubble, Spitzer, and numerous ground-based telescopes. Researchers used Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to measure subtle changes in the brightness of infrared light as the object completed two 2.4-hour rotations. By analyzing the change in brightness of different wavelengths over time, they were able to detect variability in cloud cover at different depths, temperature variations in the upper atmosphere, and changes in carbon chemistry as different sides of the object rotated in and out of view. This illustration is based on Webb’s spectroscopic observations. Webb has not captured a direct image of the object. NASA, ESA, CSA, and Joseph Olmsted (STScI) Charting Thousands of Infrared Rainbows
Using NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), Webb captured thousands of individual 0.6- to 5.3-micron spectra — one every 1.8 seconds over more than three hours as the object completed one full rotation. This was immediately followed by an observation with MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), which collected hundreds of spectroscopic measurements of 5- to 14-micron light — one every 19.2 seconds, over another rotation.
The result was hundreds of detailed light curves, each showing the change in brightness of a very precise wavelength (color) as different sides of the object rotated into view.
“To see the full spectrum of this object change over the course of minutes was incredible,” said principal investigator Johanna Vos, from Trinity College Dublin. “Until now, we only had a little slice of the near-infrared spectrum from Hubble, and a few brightness measurements from Spitzer.”
The team noticed almost immediately that there were several distinct light-curve shapes. At any given time, some wavelengths were growing brighter, while others were becoming dimmer or not changing much at all. A number of different factors must be affecting the brightness variations.
“Imagine watching Earth from far away. If you were to look at each color separately, you would see different patterns that tell you something about its surface and atmosphere, even if you couldn’t make out the individual features,” explained co-author Philip Muirhead, also from Boston University. “Blue would increase as oceans rotate into view. Changes in brown and green would tell you something about soil and vegetation.”
Graphic B: Isolated Planetary-Mass Object SIMP 0136 (NIRSpec Light Curves)
These light curves show the change in brightness of three different sets of wavelengths (colors) of near-infrared light coming from the isolated planetary-mass object SIMP 0136 as it rotated. The light was captured by Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), which collected a total of 5,726 spectra — one every 1.8 seconds — over the course of about 3 hours on July 23, 2023. The variations in brightness are thought to be related to different atmospheric features — deep clouds composed of iron particles, higher clouds made of tiny grains of silicate minerals, and high-altitude hot and cold spots — rotating in and out of view. The diagram at the right illustrates the possible structure of SIMP 0136’s atmosphere, with the colored arrows representing the same wavelengths of light shown in the light curves. Thick arrows represent more (brighter) light; thin arrows represent less (dimmer) light. NASA, ESA, CSA, and Joseph Olmsted (STScI) Patchy Clouds, Hot Spots, and Carbon Chemistry
To figure out what could be causing the variability on SIMP 0136, the team used atmospheric models to show where in the atmosphere each wavelength of light was originating.
“Different wavelengths provide information about different depths in the atmosphere,” explained McCarthy. “We started to realize that the wavelengths that had the most similar light-curve shapes also probed the same depths, which reinforced this idea that they must be caused by the same mechanism.”
One group of wavelengths, for example, originates deep in the atmosphere where there could be patchy clouds made of iron particles. A second group comes from higher clouds thought to be made of tiny grains of silicate minerals. The variations in both of these light curves are related to patchiness of the cloud layers.
A third group of wavelengths originates at very high altitude, far above the clouds, and seems to track temperature. Bright “hot spots” could be related to auroras that were previously detected at radio wavelengths, or to upwelling of hot gas from deeper in the atmosphere.
Some of the light curves cannot be explained by either clouds or temperature, but instead show variations related to atmospheric carbon chemistry. There could be pockets of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide rotating in and out of view, or chemical reactions causing the atmosphere to change over time.
“We haven’t really figured out the chemistry part of the puzzle yet,” said Vos. “But these results are really exciting because they are showing us that the abundances of molecules like methane and carbon dioxide could change from place to place and over time. If we are looking at an exoplanet and can get only one measurement, we need to consider that it might not be representative of the entire planet.”
This research was conducted as part of Webb’s General Observer Program 3548.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Margaret W. Carruthers – mcarruthers@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
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By USH
CCOR-1, a newly activated coronagraph onboard NOAA’s GOES-19 weather satellite, is the first of its kind in geostationary orbit. Positioned deep inside the Moon’s orbit, it offers a perspective unavailable to previous coronagraphs like those on SOHO.
New Moons are typically dark and invisible, but NOAA's CCOR-1 coronagraph just captured one in stunning detail.
In the footage, the Moon appears full, an illusion caused entirely by sunlight reflecting off Earth. The brightness isn’t constant, though. As sunrise progresses over the Western Hemisphere, the increasing Earthshine becomes so intense that some frames are saturated with light.
Credit image/source: https://spaceweather.com/
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By USH
On January 25, 2025, an Oklahoma City man recorded a baffling UFO that he described as a "plasma-filled jellybean." A concerned neighbor also spotted something unusual in the sky and soon, the entire neighborhood gathered outside, to witness the anomaly.
The mysterious object emitted a glow and moved erratically, mesmerizing onlookers. In his recorded footage, Frederick can be heard narrating the event. "I don’t hear anything, and it's moving unpredictably," he noted. "It looks like a jellybean, but the interior appears to be plasma."
Frederick decided to launch his drone for a closer look, but upon attempting to deploy his drone, he encountered unexplained technical failures. "My controller provides voice notifications," he explained. "It repeatedly announced, ‘unable to take off, electromagnetic interference."
After multiple attempts, he finally got the drone airborne, reaching approximately 1,000 feet beneath the UFO. However, just after capturing three images, the drone’s video function failed, and its battery, despite being fully charged, suddenly drained. "It had a 35-minute flight time," Frederick stated. "But right after taking those three pictures, the controller alerted me: ‘low battery, return to home."
Seeking expert insight, Frederick shared his footage and images with University of Oklahoma physics professor Mukremin Kilic. When asked about the sighting, Kilic remarked, "I don’t know what it is" and suggested the object was likely a drone. However, this theory does not explain why Frederick’s own drone experienced interference, raising further questions about the true nature of the UFO.
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