Siccar Point on Mars
Explanation:
What created this unusual hill on Mars?
No one is sure.
A good outlook to survey the surrounding area,
Siccar Point stands out from its surroundings in
Gale Crater.
The unusual mound was visited by the robotic
Curiosity rover exploring
Mars late last
year.
Siccar Point not only has a distinctive shape, it has dark rocks above lighter
rocks.
The apparent much younger age of the dark rocks indicates a time-break in the usual
geological ordering
of rock layers -- by a process
yet unknown.
The
Martian
hill is named for
Siccar
Point on Earth,
a place in
Scotland
itself distinctive as a junction between two different rock layers.
Curiosity continues to explore
Gale crater on Mars, looking for clues of ancient life.
Simultaneously, 2300 kilometers away, its sister
rover Perseverance explores
Jezero crater, there assisted by the
flight-capable scout
Ingenuity.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
