NASA spots mysterious object on Mars that looks like Harry Potter 'sorting hat'
A mysterious "helmet" has been spotted on Mars that has also been likened to a Harry Potter sorting hat.
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover snapped the unusually shaped object on the Red Planet this month. Space fans voted the image as NASA's Image of the Week and debated online about what it could be. The photo, selected by public vote, was taken on 5 August by the rover's Left Mastcam-Z camera — one of a pair located high on the rover's mast. The rock is wider at the bottom and narrows to a point at the top leading it to be described looking like a hat.
One online suggestion was that it resembles a medieval-looking helmet, while another referenced Harry Potter with the comment: "The Planet of the Sorting Hats has been found!"
READ MORE: Tricky A-level maths question stumps grown adults – so see if you can solve it
Other guesses included it looking like a "landed weather balloon" or "a relic from an ancient sea that was once on Mars". Meanwhile, Facebook user Sid Niknezhad playfully suggested it was "Martian buffalo's dung — nothing abnormal about it."
The object is most likely a naturally formed rock shaped as the result of natural geological processes such as wind erosion, volcanic activity, and mineral precipitation from ancient groundwater. The rock is covered in small spherical mineral deposits called spherules.
Spherules form when the groundwater passes through pores in the sedimentary rocks although scientists are not sure that all are created this way.
The Mastcam-Z instrument, a pair of zoom-capable cameras on Perseverance's neck-like mast, allows scientists to capture high-resolution images and spot unusual features like this spherule-covered "helmet" rock.
The Mars Perseverance rover has been sent to the planet for search for signs of ancient microbial life as part of NASA's quest to explore the past habitability of Mars. 'The rover is collecting core samples of Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and soil), for potential pickup by a future mission that would bring them to Earth for detailed study,' states NASA.
Stargazers were struck by the fishy goings on, found by the robot which has been searching for life on Mars ever since arriving in February 2021. Since then, many strange-looking features appeared to have been spotted in the barren and arid landscape - including a doorway.
NASA themselves said one rock structure looked like a shark fin and a crab claw. It posted in August last year on X: 'This rocky duo was spotted hanging out together in a wind-swept area. I spy a … crab claw? Shark fin? Comment below with what you see!'
The image showed a shark-fin-looking outcrop and a crab-claw-like boulder which are cases of pareidolia. This happens when the brain sees something and turns it into a seemingly meaningful image that doesn't really exist. And the NASA post received quickly went viral with many replies with one person joking that there were remains of an 'almighty great cosmic crab'.
Others also felt that the crab claw boulder looked more like a turtle, or even a coffee bean, while a further comment said that the 'shark fin' more closely resembled the back of a stegosaurus.
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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
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Did scientists find an ancient alien HELMET on Mars? Mysterious object is discovered by Nasa
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NASA has stumbled across a mysterious object while roaming Mars that's caught the attention of space enthusiasts. The unlikely piece has been likened to a medieval helmet due to its odd shape. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Others said it looked like the sorting hat from Harry Potter Credit: SWNS 2 The object was pictured by Nasa's Perseverance rover Credit: SWNS It was pictured by the space agency's Perseverance rover that's been on the look out for signs of alien life. "Gandalf's hat or a pot helmet?" one person remarked on Facebook. "The Planet of the Sorting Hats has been found!" another said in reference to Harry Potter. A third joked: "Martian buffalo's dung — nothing abnormal about it." Other guesses included it looking like a "landed weather balloon" or "a relic from an ancient sea that was once on Mars". The photo was named as Nasa's Image of the Week by public vote and has been a source of discussion since. However, it's not some abandoned ancient alien accessory as some may think. It's a rock that happens to be shaped like a hat, composed of spherules, tiny particles which are the result of volcanic activity or meteorite impacts. The shape is likely to be due to processes such as wind erosion, volcanic activity, and mineral precipitation from ancient groundwater. "This rock's target name is Horneflya and it's distinctive less because of its hat shape (which looks to me to be generally consistent with the pyramid shape we often see in of wind-eroded float blocks on the surface of Mars) and more because it's made almost entirely of spherules," David Agle, a spokesperson for the Perseverance team revealed to Inside futuristic plans for NASA-inspired spaceship that can shorten travel times for the Moon and Mars It's not the first time unexpected objects have been spotted on the Red Planet. A strange cylinder-like piece previously fuelled speculation with people suggesting it could be an artifact of ancient civilisation on the Red Planet or a chunk of a crashed UFO. However, it was later believed to be remnants of old spacecraft hardware.
The Sun
4 hours ago
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Did scientists find an ancient alien HELMET on Mars? Mysterious object is discovered by Nasa
NASA has stumbled across a mysterious object while roaming Mars that's caught the attention of space enthusiasts. The unlikely piece has been likened to a medieval helmet due to its odd shape. 2 2 It was pictured by the space agency's Perseverance rover that's been on the look out for signs of alien life. "Gandalf's hat or a pot helmet?" one person remarked on Facebook. "The Planet of the Sorting Hats has been found!" another said in reference to Harry Potter. A third joked: "Martian buffalo's dung — nothing abnormal about it." Other guesses included it looking like a "landed weather balloon" or "a relic from an ancient sea that was once on Mars". The photo was named as Nasa 's Image of the Week by public vote and has been a source of discussion since. However, it's not some abandoned ancient alien accessory as some may think. It's a rock that happens to be shaped like a hat, composed of spherules. The shape is likely to be due to processes such as wind erosion, volcanic activity, and mineral precipitation from ancient groundwater. "This rock's target name is Horneflya and it's distinctive less because of its hat shape (which looks to me to be generally consistent with the pyramid shape we often see in of wind-eroded float blocks on the surface of Mars) and more because it's made almost entirely of spherules," David Agle, a spokesperson for the Perseverance team revealed to Inside futuristic plans for NASA-inspired spaceship that can shorten travel times for the Moon and Mars It's not the first time unexpected objects have been spotted on the Red Planet. A strange cylinder-like piece previously fuelled speculation with people suggesting it could be an artifact of ancient civilisation on the Red Planet or a chunk of a crashed UFO. However, it was later believed to be remnants of old spacecraft hardware. What is on board the Perseverance rover explained Perseverance is looking for signs of life on Mars. It boasts a total of 19 cameras and two microphones, and carries seven scientific instruments. 1. Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) An X-ray 'ray gun' that will help scientists investigate the composition of Martian rock. 2. Radar Imager for Mars' subsurface experiment (RIMFAX) A ground-penetrating radar that will image buried rocks, meteorites, and even possible underground water sources up to a depth of 10 metres (33ft). 3. Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) A bunch of sensors that will take readings of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, and other atmospheric conditions. 4. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) An experiment that will convert Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen. A scaled-up version could be used in future to provide Martian colonists with breathable air. 5. SuperCam A suite of instruments for measuring the makeup of rocks and regolith at a distance 6. Mastcam-Z A camera system capable of taking '3D' images by combining two or more photos into one. 7. Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) From Baker Street to Mars: Sherloc contains an ultraviolet laser that will investigate Martian rock for organic compounds.
Daily Mirror
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NASA spots mysterious object on Mars that looks like Harry Potter 'sorting hat'
A strange looking rock has been pictured by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover which is searching for life on the red planet and it has left space fans wondering what it may be A mysterious "helmet" has been spotted on Mars that has also been likened to a Harry Potter sorting hat. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover snapped the unusually shaped object on the Red Planet this month. Space fans voted the image as NASA's Image of the Week and debated online about what it could be. The photo, selected by public vote, was taken on 5 August by the rover's Left Mastcam-Z camera — one of a pair located high on the rover's mast. The rock is wider at the bottom and narrows to a point at the top leading it to be described looking like a hat. One online suggestion was that it resembles a medieval-looking helmet, while another referenced Harry Potter with the comment: "The Planet of the Sorting Hats has been found!" READ MORE: Tricky A-level maths question stumps grown adults – so see if you can solve it Other guesses included it looking like a "landed weather balloon" or "a relic from an ancient sea that was once on Mars". Meanwhile, Facebook user Sid Niknezhad playfully suggested it was "Martian buffalo's dung — nothing abnormal about it." The object is most likely a naturally formed rock shaped as the result of natural geological processes such as wind erosion, volcanic activity, and mineral precipitation from ancient groundwater. The rock is covered in small spherical mineral deposits called spherules. Spherules form when the groundwater passes through pores in the sedimentary rocks although scientists are not sure that all are created this way. The Mastcam-Z instrument, a pair of zoom-capable cameras on Perseverance's neck-like mast, allows scientists to capture high-resolution images and spot unusual features like this spherule-covered "helmet" rock. The Mars Perseverance rover has been sent to the planet for search for signs of ancient microbial life as part of NASA's quest to explore the past habitability of Mars. 'The rover is collecting core samples of Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and soil), for potential pickup by a future mission that would bring them to Earth for detailed study,' states NASA. Stargazers were struck by the fishy goings on, found by the robot which has been searching for life on Mars ever since arriving in February 2021. Since then, many strange-looking features appeared to have been spotted in the barren and arid landscape - including a doorway. NASA themselves said one rock structure looked like a shark fin and a crab claw. It posted in August last year on X: 'This rocky duo was spotted hanging out together in a wind-swept area. I spy a … crab claw? Shark fin? Comment below with what you see!' The image showed a shark-fin-looking outcrop and a crab-claw-like boulder which are cases of pareidolia. This happens when the brain sees something and turns it into a seemingly meaningful image that doesn't really exist. And the NASA post received quickly went viral with many replies with one person joking that there were remains of an 'almighty great cosmic crab'. Others also felt that the crab claw boulder looked more like a turtle, or even a coffee bean, while a further comment said that the 'shark fin' more closely resembled the back of a stegosaurus.
