Rocks at Opportunity rover of Sol 1800 to Sol 1899

.

.
The MER rover program is an opportunity to collect rocks of an unEarthly appearance and content.
I wanted to bring detailed views of the current rover collectible items for an easy listing, criticism, and advisement, by readers.
The dating here will be the period sol 1800 to sol 1899.
All items accepted for contributors interested in making additions, identification attempts, or explaining the processes.
Original image credits:NASA,JPL,MER
Mars Exploration Rover program.

The topic selected section was sol 1879, in the lower right corner of this image from the MI list.
I would like to hear for the first time in five years a geological explanation attempt of the content of what are claimed to be rocks and minerals in the MER MI long list of mysteries and unEarthly content.
I enjoy collecting rocks, fossils, and minerals, and it makes me pleased to conversationalize about rocks and colorful items of interest.
.
1M294990663EFFA0__P2956M2M1.JPG
.
1M294990663EFFA0__P2956M2M1
sol 1879, Opportunity rover, MER raw MI image

Many items to view in this enigma image, as with most others in the program.

I omitted the mention of this as a somewhat altered shade area of the lower right corner, not clearly viewable in the original, and seen here at 2x size enlargement. Careful inspection of the corner will reveal the items match my lightened version.
It has been a time since I used the direct linking at the MER gallery, for thumbnails of originals.
.

.

Hi Dana, I thought this was the biggest blueberry ever, but, what is it I am looking for in the lower right?

I was looking at some recent pics, made a 456 combo of this little fella, looks like he comes from somewhere else.

http://www.vk3ukf.com/1P295435198EFFA0__P2574L5M1-Tag01.gif

Oops, I'll try that image again with the BBcode.

[IMG]http://www.vk3ukf.com/1P295435198EFFA0__P2574L5M1-Tag01.gif
[/IMG]

It seems to like JPGs and not GIFs?

I don't know why that falied, it was supposed to have worked with GIFs.

Here is what I was trying to get up here.

Also wish I knew how to delete the muck-up posts.

I was delayed in adding details in these MI's for Opportunity for the location. There are a few items which are related to the software/transmission noise, and other limits of viewing, but as is common on Mars, these images do not show the Earth equivalent usual rocks and soil particulates we could expect for an Earth based scene.
In your large 'blue' rough rock, I can see a series of break-away angular edges, distinct 3D limits, and probably an opaque condition to the rock appearing object. I see it is unusual in context of similar scaled bedding layers, and appears 'dropped' to placement, from another contextual mass. Was it arriving as a non-Mars item? I find it not the usual for an iron based meteorite, but I never claim to be any expert on geology matters, nor any other subjects, actually. I like to observe, calculate the weaknesses of imaging, and bring the detail to the limit when possible. I believe they have found an unusual rock deserving a close imaging, but the berries are a local phenomenon in the MI's, I believe.
Whether the Berries can be sourced at the impacts as condensation reaction, general lack of liquids in a dessicated state of soil/dust, a water saturated transient condition of few other effects, singularly, massively, or a record of a wetter formation set of conditions in the past, I see many small peculiar items of a non-Earthly type appearance.
In a new site anywhere I look for the unique and unusual as a direction in the history.

I intended to introduce the smaller details as a challenge to the geology trained persons who will probably never find Earth examples of my choices of items. I can say much of the difference comes from the difference in liquid solution erosion as probable. We cannot take the Earth on a differing path, even at depth on 'dry' land.
Finding matches may not happen.
I'll finish a couple of items which give support to the concentric very thinly layered underlying medium grey semi-circular structure seen in the cropped enlargement.
I remember this was a 2x enlargement, with alterations to give a DR grey scale in the dark shadows. The tonal range in the MI would be limited, and could give a geometric shape repeat to the very dark margins of the image here. I have found, an additional area of darkness near this which shows a similar effect around the base of the contactual smaller berry on the left side of the large berry. A intrigue for myself, there is no other repeat in any of the image dark spots at any range point.
This is a object type occurring since the original imaging of the rovers in 2003-2004. Thousands of examples prove it exists in the images, not restricted to the scene DR range, nor matching any other matching DR range spots in each respective example image source.
The shapes and patterns are from the originals, viewable in the original images if lightened or reversed as negative imaging. The objects are limited in area and domain margins, do not follow a pattern of pixelation tonal grey level count for the digital grey shadow tones sum in the very dark spots, and extend away from the very dark spots into brighter areas at times. We saw these concentric patterns often in the open soil of the rovers over the years.
There is a very dark(darkest) micro-spheroid in the source image here. Study shows it is the darkest tonal spot in the frame. It ends a bright linear item on the shadowed surface. Appearing a sphere, it shows a partly blocked view of a black sphere if a spheroid, or a portion of a spheroid attached to the brighter 'rod' at the end. Odd items such as that will be here soon. Try a negative view to start, reduced contrast, and a posterized series to measure the brightness levels by shapes viewed incidentally. It's a gift box full of mysteries yet again.
We never got any earth based examples of these details from geology/mineralogy persons from Earth based sampling, nor any explanations other than very vague conjecture. I am interested in a better detailing of the non-Earthly aspects of the rover scenes. There are in these scenes of the Sol 1800's illusionistic effects of 3D crossed boundaries and contradictions in transparencies at the incidence of the taken images, at the various 'taking' positions. We never see that in Earth photos, although somewhere some eroding scenes may show illusions similarly somewhere on Earth not as yet seen here.
I find it humorous that we have no standardized 'grey scale' cards for the rover images, even if only on occasional test images each day and each location/angle.
..........
I'll try to finish on a computer cleanup and work on a few examples for you. Thanks for asking- it's sure become a quiet world here on Earth. The rovers are now more productive than the observers it seems. A few of us are commenting, but most are working in the background. Great project work, Kevin. I happen to be rebuilding my RAW and other science type file processes here currently. Hope to try your viewer product in some trials.

This is a 4x zoom image of the topic image. You can see the odd detailing here in a rather dark shadow, matching other examples in nearby physical locations of items which are a very close pattern repeat. The dark areas do not carry these patterns anywhere else in the original, and not in my enlarged images.
We seldom see any rod shapes this small on Earth unless they are fossils, however these are distinct to Mars. The very dark spheroid with the bright 'rod' or stem, and this other example should be imaged in detail, and the rods tracked under the large berry. The growths may indicate a connection with the berries, as we have two angled to a spot under the berry in this MI.
Fibrous material throughout the Mars soil and the layered rock appears rigid in some samples, and flexed in complex curved shapes in other images.
This is a dark core to a bright rod shape. The layered appearance to the grey area showing concentric ringed patterning, is matched by a nearby base of a small berry/spheroid. It is so dark as to be almost non-imaged, carrying almost no detail.
.

.
A JPG below with a smaller file size, same details. These were cropped for a small file size, and enlarged 4x from the original 2x enlargement. I hope my memory is intact in those details.
.

.
Hope this makes viewing easier. The enlarging does degrade the image considerably.

The shadowed area is important in the context to the source image, with the details I show at the low end of viewable dark detail. Above are zones of shadow medium grey seen as bright blocked white tones. Here I have cropped the image at about 8x to just the darkest tones. These are dark greys to black, with only the tip of the 'stem' or rod being bright enough to see easily in the 1x original MER MI image.
This allows better concentration on the stem, ringed circular layers, general organized dark pattern, and the wiry relatively medium toned very fine fibers.
Smaller file size than above in PNG.
.

.

Hi Dana,

I tried to locate the file,

1M294990663EFFA0__P2956M2M1

in *.img format, it is not in the PDS yet.
MI *.img files are way behind the others in being entered into the PDS. I can only see it going up to SOL 1645. Seems we are stuck with jpg at the moment for this one.

The concentric rings are ringing a bell somewhere, can't put my finger on an image yet.
The jpg artifacts are so much in the way.

Refering up to the colour image I posted, the errant stone has been imaged with the MI, it has a glassy appearance with conchoidal fractures, it also appears to have an imbedded berry. ??

I would have to say, it is the first example of a specimen on Mars that I have seen that could be called, "obsidian". A volcanic glass formed during extremely rapid solidification after magma has been expelled onto the surface and exposed to the atmosphere or water. The glasses found on Earth of volcanic origin are obsidian or apache tears, and those that are of impact formation are known as tektites. There is an unusual clear impact glass found in Libya, known as Desert Glass, I guess that's what happens when a large impact happens in pure sand. High amounts of iron in the glass cause it to become brown or black. The only tektite material I am aware of that contains xenoclasts, are the ones from Muong Nong in Cambodia.

EBay sellers have been selling a lot of Libyan glass rock that is claimed to be shocked from impacts in that area. I might buy one someday, just for a closeup photo session. Any glass on Mars should be viewed closely, for a source nearby, but the mixed up surface samples aren't always that easy to spot as outcrops close by.
I get back to finish this MI image soon. Lost in some GIS software currently.
Try Free View. I'll get the link for it and return tomorrow. Thanks.

Free View can run HiRISE images as is, full JP2's. Some benefits and some limitations, so let me know. You might try MI's in it, I've just started using it.