Sunday, March 29, 2009

Minerals on Mars Point to More Recent Presence of Water

Scientists working in accordance with NASA have spotted "widespread deposits of opals and related minerals on the surface of Mars. An opal belongs to a class of minerals known as hydrated silicas, and in order to have an opal liquid water is needed. It is this finding that causes scientists to believe that the planet was relatively wet for the first two billion years of its existence. Probes on Mars have also found other water-bearing minerals such as clay that date back to about 3.5 billion years ago. This is relatively recent in comparison to the fact that Mars and many other planets in our solar system have only been around for about 4.5 billion years. What makes this so interesting is the possibility that Mars was once warm and wet enough to host life-forms, have lakes, and to maybe even have oceans; furthering the theory that there was once life on Mars.
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5 comments:

  1. Austin EngrosMarch 29, 2009 at 10:11 PM

    1. This is well written and has good details.
    2. He gives a good explanation of what an opal is.
    3. He gives good reasoning about why these observations are so important to studies about Mars.

    1. He could have given more details about how and where exactly the opals were spotted.
    2. He could have gone into more detail about the probs.

    1. I learnt that probes have found water bearing minerals, such as clay on Mars.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ryan HackettMarch 30, 2009 at 11:00 AM

    1.He has very good facts and details.
    2.Explains really well what an opal is.
    3.He gives a good explanation of how there was that there was good possibility that there was once life on mars.
    1.He could've explained more where the opals were located on mars.
    2.He could've explained better what an hydrated silica is.
    1. I learned that there was water on mars in it's first two billion years of existence.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KipMarch 30, 2009 at 6:40 PM

    1. Concise and well thought out review.
    2. There is a good perspective in the present and past existence of water.
    3. The possibility of life on mars.

    1. There should be information about nitrogen dioxide and its connection to water.
    2. There is no mention that the research on the signs of water could be minimal.

    1. I learned that there are a lot of explanations for the presence of water on Mars.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brooke KellyMarch 30, 2009 at 11:12 PM

    1) This is a very descriptive review.
    2) He explains well how these studies are important to us.
    3) He thoroughly explains what an opal is and the importance.

    1) He could have explained more about how this proves the possibility of life on mars.
    2) He could have given more information of where the opals were located.

    1) I learnt that there is a large possibility that Mars was once warm and wet enough to host life-forms, have lakes, and maybe even have oceans.

    ReplyDelete
  5. RyanApril 14, 2009 at 11:20 PM

    1. Well writen and good use of facts.
    2.Had a good explanation of a opal.
    3. I liked how he described the possibility of life on mars.

    1. Could have talked about the major signs of past life on mars.
    2. Could have talked more about probs.

    1. I lerned that mars atmosphere could have succesfuly thrived on mars.

    ReplyDelete

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