A report to be presented at the 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference will discuss color imaging using the THEMIS instrument on Mars Odyssey: Color Imaging of Mars with the Visible Imaging Subsytem (VIS) on the Mars Odyssey THEMIS Instrument. J.F. Bell III, T. McConnochie, M.J. Wolff, P.R. Christensen, G. Mehall, M. Malin, M. Caplinger, M. Ravine, L.L. Cherednik, K.C. Bender, K. Murray, and the THEMIS Science Team. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIV (2003) 1993.pdf http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2003/pdf/1993.pdf One of the images discussed in this report, of Candor Chasma, was already released and appears to show greenish areas in the image: From: Robert Clark (rgregoryclark@yahoo.com) Subject: Mars, the "Greenish" Planet? Newsgroups: sci.astro, alt.sci.planetary, sci.space.history, sci.astro.amateur, rec.arts.sf.science Date: 2002-12-11 18:31:56 PST http://groups.google.com/groups?th=4a3ea56991ef1f46 However, the other image is a new color one of Syrtis Major and appears to show blue deposits in the craters. Syrtis Major has long been known to present a phenomemon of a "blue clearing" that changes seasonally. For this reason, it was attributed by some to vegetation. Others attributed it to variable dust cover: From: Robert Clark (rgregoryclark@yahoo.com) Subject: On the colors of Mars and the mystery of the "Sinton bands". Newsgroups: sci.astro, alt.sci.planetary, sci.astro.seti, sci.bio.misc Date: 2002-02-02 15:19:44 PST http://groups.google.com/groups?th=6e501f3d9d0901c9 The LPSC report notes the difficulty of calibrating and combining the different THEMIS band images into a single visible color image. One thing that might help is to use images where you can be sure of some of the colors, for example by using images that contain clouds or ice that you can assume are white: Clouds in the Northern Tempe Terra (Released 2 May 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020502a.html Hungarian Scientists Claim to Have Found Traces of Life on Mars. By Krisztina Than Reuters posted: 12:00 pm ET 07 September 2001 "The three-man team said the pictures showed evidence of thousands of dark dune spots, similar to organisms found near Earth's South Pole, in craters in Mars' snowy southern polar region. "These spots indicate that on the surface below the ice there are such organisms which, absorbing solar energy, are able to melt the ice and create conditions of life for themselves,'' biologist and team member Tibor Ganti told Reuters." http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_organisms_010907.html Latest Claims Of Martian Life Are Erroneous Says USGS Scientist. Flagstaff - Sept. 26, 2001 by Timothy N. Titus, Ph.D U.S.G.S. Astrogeology Team "Hungarian scientists have reported evidence of life in the Martian southern polar region. They claim that the dark spots observed during the southern spring are living organisms, similar to those found at the south pole of Earth. "This comparison of the Martian southern polar cap to the Earth's Antarctica is highly inaccurate and misleading since the two regions have little in common." http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-life-01h.html Color images of these south pole dark spots may help to resolve the controversy as to whether or not they are related to life. Bob Clark
THEMIS visible image of Syrtis Major, Mars. Here's the THEMIS image of Syrtis Major from this report: Color Imaging of Mars with the Visible Imaging Subsytem (VIS) on the Mars Odyssey THEMIS Instrument. J.F. Bell III, T. McConnochie, M.J. Wolff, P.R. Christensen, G. Mehall, M. Malin, M. Caplinger, M. Ravine, L.L. Cherednik, K.C. Bender, K. Murray, and the THEMIS Science Team. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIV (2003) 1993.pdf http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2003/pdf/1993.pdf This may be related to blue tints seen on some rocks at the Pathfinder site: Photographs show red, white and blue rocks on Mars http://www.floridatoday.com/space/explore/stories/1997b/072997c.htm "In panorama photos taken by Pathfinder of its landing site, there is a striking two-color appearance on dozens of rocks, Smith said. "You divide the scene into two parts - the red part and the blue part,' he said. 'There is a very clear difference between the red side and the blue side.' "Smith said that the blue side is on the east side of the rocks, suggesting that the sometime-ferocious wind storms on Mars may have scoured off a layer, uncovering the color. The west side of the rocks, protected from the wind, are red, probably from layers of Martian soil, he said. "The strong wind comes through and it could have sandblasted the one side of these rocks," he said. " This is discussed further in a report given at the 31st LPSC: Blue Mars http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2000/pdf/1938.pdf Bob Clark Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Blue rocks at the Pathfinder site. Here is the true color image of the blue tinted rocks at the Pathfinder site from the report: Blue Mars http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2000/pdf/1938.pdf Bob Clark Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Blue rocks on Earth. I was sent an image of "bluish" rocks in Antarctica that might be analogues of the blue rocks seen at the Pathfinder site. The large rock in the center of the image is suposed to be "slate-blue" or grey-blue. There are some smaller rocks around it that appear to be more blue though. I found after a net search some images of rocks with a blue coloration on this page: http://www.geocities.com/jghist/Glossary/glossary.html I'm interested in finding other images of rocks with a blue coloration if anyone knows of any. Another thing I'm interested in is the exfoliation of the rocks seen in the Pathfinder image. This is indicated by their rough texture and the blue deposits at the base of the rocks that clearly derive from the rock. This type of exfoliation that leaves deposits of the rock material on the ground is usually associated with softer sedimentary rocks rather than harder igneous rocks. There has been speculation that the Pathfinder rocks may have been conglomerates, a type of sedimentary rock formed in turbulent water conditions. And the bluish rocks in the Antarctica image do not have the rough texture of the Pathfinder blue rocks. The bluish rocks in the Antarctica image are igneous, which makes me wonder if the Pathfinder rocks are in fact sedimentary. Bob Clark
