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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Science Mars Is Like...

Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 8:26 AM

In the first inventory of minerals on another planet, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity found soil that bears a striking resemblance to weathered, volcanic sand in Hawaii, scientists say.

NASA

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OIB IN THE HIZZY

Posted by Asparagus! on October 31, 2012 at 9:33 AM

Does this mean Obama was born on Mars? Be the first ET Truther.

Posted by Chicago Fan on October 31, 2012 at 10:23 AM

not that surprising.

Posted by Max Solomon on October 31, 2012 at 10:51 AM

You mean it's crowded with Japanese tourists?

Posted by Urgutha Forka on October 31, 2012 at 10:55 AM

Mars has the best sushi!

Posted by Pope Peabrain on October 31, 2012 at 10:58 AM

Remember, Mars has a very long day, so get your official Disney John Carter watch when planning to arrive for Sushi Happy Hour there.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on October 31, 2012 at 11:31 AM

@6: fuck, are you congenitally incapable of being right about anything? Martian day is marginally longer than an earth day. (year is another story)

Posted by gnossos on October 31, 2012 at 11:55 AM

@6 A day on Mars is maybe forty minutes longer than a day on Earth. You tell us if that's "very long"...

Posted by Dr_Awesome on October 31, 2012 at 11:58 AM

@7 so, basically, I'm right but you're just arguing over what "long" means?

Wow. have some candy, you must be low on blood sugar.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on October 31, 2012 at 12:28 PM

@9 - So what does "very long" mean then? Also, it's obvious that you were sing and earth day as your point of reference and using "very long" in relation to that.

And you are wrong, again. Very, very wrong.

Posted by Pridge Wessea on October 31, 2012 at 12:36 PM

@10 - So what does "very, very wrong" mean then? It's obvious that you were using WiS' wrongness as your point of reference and using 'very, very wrong' in relation to that.

And your head looks oblong. Very, very oblong.

Posted by biffster on October 31, 2012 at 12:52 PM

This is not surprising. Mars has a number of giant shield volcanoes, which scientists believe were formed over hotspots, similar to the process that formed the Hawaiian islands. The difference is that while Hawaii is a chain of volcanoes because the Pacific Plate moves relative to the hotspot over time, Olympus Mons and its ilk were situated on an unmoving set of plates, so over millions of years they grew gigantic - Olympus Mons is three times the height of Everest in addition to being many times as wide.

Posted by I have always been... east coaster on October 31, 2012 at 1:56 PM

If we're gonna talk "long-ass days" let's talk venus. ~2800 hours and the sun rises in the west.

Posted by Asparagus! on October 31, 2012 at 2:22 PM

You're just upset they greenlit John Carter of Mars II.

Venus is a bit too hot, though. Even if ERB wrote some cool books about that as well.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on October 31, 2012 at 3:25 PM

That's exactly what I thought as I climbed Mauna Loa. The vegetation grows smaller and more sparse until no plants can be seen - just an endless sea of red rock for hours on accent. Coming back down, the first plant spotted is a joy to behold, and the jungle forest the car was parked in seemed from another reality.

Posted by Mrs Jarvie on November 1, 2012 at 2:01 AM