June 28
Mars Mystery Solved!
Of the many intriguing observations taken by the Mars rovers, one of the most interesting was not of the surrounding geology. Rather, it wasÂan image of the martian atmosphere. Caught in action was something streaking through the sky.
At first, Mars scientists operating the rovers thought the fast moving, caught-on-camera curiosity was a spacecraftÂ-- perhaps an aging Viking Orbiter still circling the red planet.
âThe initial thought was that little streak in the sky was an old relic spacecraft. Thereâs a lot of junk in orbit around Mars,â said Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and principal investigator for the Athena science payload toted on each of the Mars rovers.
Mars meteor captured by Spirit rover.(Click to Enlarge)
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=v_mars_contrail_met_02.jpg&cap=Spirit rover image of atmosphere taken through green filter. Streak in martian sky can be seen. First thought to be orbiting spacecraft, a research group in France says robot caught a Mars meteor. Credit: NASA/JPL
But a research group in France came up with the real story, Squyres reported at the American Astronomical Society meeting held earlier this month. The study group took a look at predicted times and radiance for meteor showers at Mars. Turns out, the Spirit rover image was snapped during one of those showers, he said.
âThe orientation of the streak in the sky matches the radiant for that shower to within a fraction of a degree. So weâve seen a martian meteor,â Squyres said.
-- Leonard David
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