2025年9月28日
Leopard Spots on Martian Rocks
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS, Perseverance Rover
Explanation: What is creating these unusual spots? Light-colored spots on Martian rocks, each surrounded by a dark border, were discovered last year by NASA‘s Perseverance Rover currently exploring Mars. Dubbed leopard spots because of their seemingly similarity to markings on famous Earth-bound predators, these curious patterns are being studied with the possibility they were created by ancient Martian life. The pictured spots measure only millimeters across and were discovered on a larger rock named Cheyava Falls. The exciting but unproven speculation is that long ago, microbes generated energy with chemical reactions that turned rock from red to white while leaving a dark biosignature ring, like some similarly appearing spots on Earth rocks. Although other non-biological explanations have not been ruled out, speculation focusing on this potential biological origin is causing much intrigue.
Tomorrow’s picture: comet comet
火星上的神秘豹纹: 岩石斑点之谜
影像提供: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS, Perseverance Rover
说明: 这些不寻常的斑点是怎么形成的呢？去年，美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的毅力号火星车在火星上发现了一些岩石上的浅色斑点，每个斑点周围都有深色边框。由于外观和地球上著名掠食者身上的花纹相似，因此昵称它们为「豹纹斑」。科学家们正在深入研究这些神秘的斑点，其中一种可能的解释是它们源自远古的火星生命。照片中的斑点仅有毫米大小，出现在一块被命名为「Cheyava Falls」的大岩石上。令人振奋但尚未证实的推测是：很久以前，微生物或许透过化学反应获取能量，使岩石由红转白，同时留下深色的「生物签名」环，就像地球上一些岩石中也能见到类似的痕迹。虽然非生物学解释并未被排除，但这种潜在的生物起源假说，已经引起了相当大的关注。
明日的图片: comet comet
