Pebbles and stones and rocks, oh my!

Pebbles and rocks on the Fram Crater
Pebbles and rocks on the Fram Crater

Mars Explorer Rover Opportunity had been scouring the martian surface for a few months when it took this 2004 picture, close to the Fram Crater. Though these look like large size pebbles and stones, this image only shows about a 3 centimeter cross section of the Mars surface and was taken by the microscopic imager camera on Opportunity’s robotic arm. The official name for the pebbles and stones is actually spherules – these mineral concentrations are called “blueberries” and are rich in hematite.

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