back to article Black Beauty Martian meteorite IS a SPOT-ON match with Red Planet's DARK PLAINS: boffins

Scientists believe that a recently discovered Martian meteorite – dubbed Black Beauty – is representative of the "bulk background" of rocks on the surface of Mars. The 4.4 billion-year-old space stone, known as NWA7034, was found in the Moroccan desert several years ago. Black Beauty Mars meteorite A chip from Black Beauty …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Tasty?

    From the pic, it appears to me that, just as the Moon is made of cheese, Mars is made of Black Pudding. I prefer the Moon.

    1. Mark 85

      Re: Tasty?

      That would depend upon the type of cheese, I'd think.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Tasty?

        I'm not too fussy. Except Parmesan. Hate that.

        1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

          Re: Tasty?

          Except Parmesan. Hate that.

          Fresh Parmesan is good, it's the dried powdered stuff that smells like vomit which gives it a bad name.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Tasty?

            Fresh Parmesan

            Ahh. I'll give it a go next time I come aross some.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Tasty?

              Fresh Parmesan

              Ahh. I'll give it a go next time I come aross some.

              Now there's a mental image I could have done without.

    2. Robin

      Re: Tasty?

      In the interests of balance, I prefer black pudding but I agree that it does vary considerably. The Spanish stuff from Burgos with rice in it, is delicious.

    3. Adolph Clickbait

      Re: Tasty?

      Dairylea? This is moon shaped after all.

  2. Dani Eder

    Selection bias?

    > “This is showing that if you went to Mars and picked up a chunk of crust, you’d expect it to be heavily beat up, battered, broken apart and put back together,”

    The only way this Black Beauty meteorite could end up in the Moroccan desert is as a result of a giant asteroid impact on Mars - one big enough to fling objects at escape velocity. It should be pretty obvious that this particular rock will show signs of being beat up, but that does not mean the rest of Mars is that way.

    A similar selection bias happens with Chondrite vs other meteorite types. There are a lot more Chondrites in space than are found on the ground. But chondrites by their nature are made of stony particles bound in an organic matrix (a sort of primordial asphalt/macadam). The organic bits tend to burn up as the meteor enters our atmosphere, leaving nothing to find afterwards.

    1. Grikath

      Re: Selection bias?

      "It should be pretty obvious that this particular rock will show signs of being beat up, but that does not mean the rest of Mars is that way."

      Except for the bits that, you know, have been pounded so hard chunks flew out at escape velocity.. Which according to the data to date is still a significant amount of martian real estate.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. N≠2

    que imposición?

    No tiene sentido alguno esta imposición, que no tiene vuelco in situ para tal componente por recopilar en datos como en falso breaking new

    1. A. Coatsworth Silver badge

      Re: que imposición?

      What did the Spanish language *ever* do to you, to warrant such ferocious attack?

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like