Mars rover discovers mysterious 'blueberries'

[2on2u]

12. They are not unique to mars so say

http://www.universetoday.com/9666/earth-has-blueberries-too/



Image credit: University of Utah
Even before marble-shaped pebbles nicknamed ?blueberries? were discovered on Mars by the Opportunity rover, University of Utah geologists studied similar rocks in Utah?s national parks and predicted such stones would be found on the Red Planet.

In a study published in the June 17 issue of the journal Nature, the Utah researchers suggest both the Martian and Utah rocks ? known as hematite concretions ? formed underground when minerals precipitated from flowing groundwater.

?We came up with the ?recipe? for blueberries,? says Marjorie Chan, chair and professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah. ?Before Opportunity landed, we thought there might be hematite concretions on Mars. That was based on our study of hematite-rich regions of southern Utah, where hematite balls are found in national parks and have long been a geological oddity that shows up in many rock shops.?

The round rocks are found in southern Utah in Zion and Capitol Reef national parks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Snow Canyon State Park and the Moab area.

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/9666/earth-has-blueberries-too/#ixzz26XVL0aFQ