Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2025 June 22
A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
Image Credit:
NASA,
JPL,
Curiosity Rover
Explanation:
How were these unusual Martian spherules created?
Thousands of
unusual gray spherules made of
iron and rock and dubbed
blueberries
were found embedded in and
surrounding rocks near the
landing site of the robot
Opportunity rover on
Mars in 2004.
To help investigate their origin, Opportunity found a
surface dubbed the Berry Bowl with an indentation that was
rich in the Martian orbs.
The Berry Bowl is
pictured here, imaged during rover’s 48th
Martian day.
The average size of a Martian blueberry rock
is only about 4 millimeters across.
By
analyzing a circular patch in the rock surface
to the left of the densest patch of
spherules,
Opportunity obtained data showing that the
underlying rock has a much different composition than the
hematite rich
blueberries.
This information contributes to the
growing consensus that these small, strange,
gray orbs were slowly deposited from a bath of
dirty water.
APOD Turns 30!:
Free Public Lecture in Cork, Ireland on Tuesday, June 24 at 7 pm
Tomorrow’s picture: heart stars
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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