After "Alien Doorway", NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Bizarre Spikes On Mars
NDTV
Structures like these, called hoodoos, are also found on Earth. Geologists believe that these tall and thin spires are formed by erosional process.
The Curiosity rover, sent by American space agency NASA to explore the Gale crater or Mars, has found some strange rock formation on the Red Planet. The strange, twisting structures are seen poking out of the surface of Mars in the high resolution image sent by the rover to the base station. #PPOD: Here is another cool rock at Gale crater on Mars! The spikes are most likely the cemented fillings of ancient fractures in a sedimentary rock. The rest of the rock was made of softer material and was eroded away. 📷: @NASA@NASAJPL@Caltech#MSSS fredk, acquired on May 17. pic.twitter.com/RGfjmRBfI7
The SETI Institute, a not-for-profit research organisation focused on searching for life in the Universe, highlighted the image in a tweet last week, calling it a "cool rock". NASA too posted the raw image on its website.
"The spikes are most likely the cemented fillings of ancient fractures in a sedimentary rock. The rest of the rock was made of softer material and was eroded away," the institute further said in the tweet, offering an explanation for the shapes.
