What is This Weird Shiny Thing on Mars?

Mars harbors many mysteries as yet unsolved. Let’s explore one. The Curiosity rover’s discovery of peculiar anomalies on the Martian surface continues to intrigue. From the infamous Mars ‘flower’ to benign plastic remnants and now a metallic protuberance, each finding adds a layer of enigma to our understanding of the Red Planet.

This latest revelation, captured by Curiosity’s Mastcam on Sol 173, presents a small metallic-looking object perched on a rock, defying conventional explanations. The high albedo and shadow cast by this enigmatic feature raise questions about its composition and origin. Could it be a resilient material embedded in the rock or a growth emerging from it?

The newly available left Mastcam image promises a 3-D perspective, offering a deeper insight into this anomaly. Despite its diminutive size, approximately 0.5 cm tall, the smooth surface and lack of dust accumulation hint at its unique nature.

As we await further analysis from rover scientists, one thing remains certain – Mars continues to surprise us with its peculiarities. Stay tuned for more updates as we delve deeper into this captivating discovery on the Martian landscape.

Look at the above photo and also notice the rock that looks like a round vase or vertebra in the lower right. Interesting. Now try to find where the above photo is in the larger photo below:

It took me a while… answer: far right, half way down the photo. This formation has been called “the Hood Ornament”. The shiny surface suggests a fine grain which has been polished by the wind.

Update on the Hood Ornament on Mars

Do we know yet? Not really, but officially, the hood ornament has been ” identified” as a rock sculpted by the wind into an interesting shape. This so called shiny rock “is a natural formation and not evidence of an ancient civilization.” Got that? Good. In 2024 the metallic-looking object captured by Curiosity’s Mastcam on Sol 173 was a small protuberance on a rock that resembled a thick, bent nail sticking out of the Martian surface. It was about 0.5 cm in height and appeared shiny, projecting a tiny shadow on the rock below. The object was described as having a high albedo and was not covered in dust, leading to speculation that it could be iron from a meteorite or something that had “grown” on the rock. The exact nature of this object as remained a mystery since the time of discovery[1][2].

What is it? Reader Guesses

1. Looks like a Muppet lizard with praying mantis eyes on a hammer head shark head to me.
2. NASA dropped a hammer, afraid to admit it.
3. That is the Zorgoria Lander, a planetary rover (somewhat like a small version of Curiosity) sent by the intelligent beings from the oceans of Europa.
4. I don’t know, but can you see the stick under it?
5. A Martian sand snake, duh.
6. The obelisk, a beacon left a billion years ago which is waiting for intelligent life to arrive so it can activate.
7. A portkey, a “magical” object “enchanted” to instantly transport anyone touching it to a specific location.
8. An invertebrate, possibly an ant
9. A small blue and black bug
10. A Martian crab checking out the Curiosity rover. It froze when the rover moved.
11. Space junk from some previous secret mission, perhaps Soviet.
12. The King of Mars, sleeping.
13. A sensor for an underground dwelling.

Add your guess in the comments if you don’t feel like these have covered it.

Citations
^{[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/um-whats-this-weird-hunk-of-metal-we-just-found-on-mars/272972/
[2] https://www.universetoday.com/99750/another-weird-shiny-thing-on-mars-2/
[3] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/mars-rock-takes-unusual-form
[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/curiosity-rover-finds-hood-ornament-mars-flna1c8348627
[5] https://www.space.com/19752-mars-rover-curiosity-weird-rock.html}