2022-03-25
Martian Rock Groups! Stereoscopic Corner #7
Contributed by Mary Friargiu, with the supervision of Brian May and Claudia Manzoni
In the first ‘Stereoscopic Corner’ contribution of 2022, we are taking a closer look at the main characters of the Martian landscape, which are various groups of rocks.
Whether they consist of big or tiny rocks, sharp-cornered or polished, these assorted clusters never fail to catch our eye. This is the reason why we are offering these stereoviews to the blog – with the intention to share the unique charm they present when viewed in Stereoscopic 3-D.
Also, as we have just passed the one-year landing anniversary of the rover on Mars soil, it’s a nice way to celebrate all the wonderful views offered by Perseverance, that have been wondering (and surprising!) us for a year. You will be rocked !
Sol 103: Starting our journey from Sol 103, with a stereo view that shows a gathering of rather small rocks, placed sufficiently close to each other. Looking at the background, we suppose the Perseverance rover took this set of images in a particularly rocky spot.
Sol 119: Continuing with two stereo pairs from the same Sol. The first one offers an interesting view of what looks like a literal sea of rocks ! The bigger ones have peculiar shapes – quite sharp-cornered yet smothered at the sight. Looking closely, some holes are present in their surface. They are surrounded by smaller stones, almost pebbles-sized.
Sol 119 (2): The second stereo from Sol 119 displays much smaller and uneven rocks. A couple of them look hole-filled, while the remaining look pretty jagged. Like in the previous stereo scene, smaller stones are nearby.
Sol 207: The rocks captured in this stereo pair from Sol 207 seem to be geometrically distanced, almost in a perfect squared place – with a single rock placed nearly in the middle. The notched tops of rocks deep-buried by sand appear on the surface.
Sol 286: This complex cluster of rocks made an appearance on Sol 286. Boulders overlap other boulders creating a fascinating sight of the Martian landscape.
Sol 300: Rocks and stones of all sizes and shapes are presented to you in the final stereo of this article. Some of them catch the eye, some of them are buried in the sand. Can you spot the heart-shaped rock in the middle right?
