Some color images of White Rock on Mars were posted from THEMIS data on the www.anomalies.net board. They confirm that blue colors do occur on Mars and that White Rock really is white. These images along with the visible color images released by NASA show the importance of visible color imaging of Mars: Topic: Full THEMIS data released on White Rock. http://www.anomalies.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=25;t=004262 Topic: PDS loader plugin for Windows released http://www.anomalies.net/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=25;t=005292 THEMIS visible color images. http://uplink.space.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=sciastro&Number=429816 And once more they raise the question of life on Mars, the Multi-colored Planet. Bob Clark
Here is a report to be presented to the Sixth International Conference on Mars showing more THEMIS visible color images of Mars: High Spatial Resolution Visible Color Units on Mars from the Mars Odyssey THEMIS/VIS Instrument. J.F. Bell III1, T. McConnochie1, D. Savransky1, B. Stiglitz1, M.J. Wolff2, P.R. Christensen3, G. Mehall3, P.B. James4, M. Malin5, M. Caplinger5, M. Ravine5, L.L. Cherednik3, K.C. Bender3, K. Murray3, and the THEMIS Science Team, 1Cornell University, Dept. of Astronomy, Ithaca NY 14853-6801; jfb8@cornell.edu , 2Space Science Institute, Boulder CO, 3Arizona State University, Dept. of Geology, Tempe AZ, 4U. Toledo, Toledo OH, 5Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego CA. Sixth International Conference on Mars (2003) 3238.pdf http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/sixthmars2003/pdf/3238.pdf Here is an image showing large blue colored areas in Granicus Vallis: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Bob Clark
An article to be published in Science also gives a color image of White Rock: Morphology and Composition of the Surface of Mars: Mars Odyssey THEMIS Results. Published online June 5, 2003 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1080885v1 The image from the Science paper is copied below. You'll notice it has a decidedly unnatural appearance. I wonder if the method the THEMIS visual imaging team used in the prior THEMIS color images of calibrating using Hubble color images was not used on this image. Note also that there is little contrast in color with the immediately surrounding area. This is in conflict with prior MGS and Viking images that show the immediately surrounding area with a dark bluish cast: Martian crater lake may have harboured life http://www.gla.ac.uk/press/releases/originoflife.html "White Rock" of Pollack Crater MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-264, 4 December 20 http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/dec00_seds/pollack/ And this page has a thermal infrared image of White Rock that shows it to be much cooler than the terrain even outside the crater: Pollack Crater, 'White Rock' http://themis-data.asu.edu/img/I01061001.html This page in the caption ascribes this to its being brighter than the terrain outside the crater: Odyssey/White Rock http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/gallery/martianterrain/PIA03862.html However, the page on the visible light release suggests that White Rock actually is not white but only looks bright in comparison to the dark material in the crater, which would imply it is not actually brighter than the terrain outside the crater: White Rock (Released 19 April 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020419a.html Either it is anomalously bright in visible light which would once more raise the possibility that it is an evaporite deposit, sulfate or carbonate, or it is not and its anomalous darkness in infrared is not due to its brightness but its internal composition, which would once again raise the possibility it consists of an evaporite deposit. Bob Clark
