Curiosity Spots Another Shiny Object on Martian Soil

Ever since NASA's Mars Curiosity rover kick-started its mission on the Red Planet, we have been waiting for the hidden clues embedded in this alien planet. And Curiosity doesn't disappoint, providing many interesting facts till date. Latest news from the rover is its discovery of a shiny metallic object that is different from the other Martian rocks.

The newly discovered metallic object was different from its red surroundings. This is not the first time that the rover is surprising us with such an unexpected discovery. Prior to this, it had found a 'Mars flower' that was actually a benign plastic from the rover itself. It also found small metallic-looking granules on a rock.

The image produced by Curiosity shows a protuberance having a high albedo and also casts a shadow on the rock below, reports Universe Today.

Rover captured this image using its Mastcam. This was first pointed out by Elisabetta Bonora for Universe Today.  She is an image editing expert from Italy. Due to the lack of sufficient images, she failed to reveal the details of the shiny piece of material.

"The corresponding image from the left Mastcam is not there, which is a real shame because this would allow us to make an anaglyph," she said via email.

As reported in Sciencerecorder, there is a theory that suggests the metallic protuberance is more resistant to erosion than the rock it is currently placed on. Within the rock, more of this material is embedded. Apart from this, they guess that the material is something that grows on the Martian rock.

This image gave rise to a lot of guess-work among experts and science enthusiasts. They are gathering information on this shiny object. Due to its smooth texture, they guess that it is not covered with dust, a property present in metals to clean easily.

The rover scientists are working hard to construct some details of this image.