- Tech
- Science
OUT OF THIS WORLD
Scientists have a range of theories to explain the astounding discovery
- Harvey Geh
NASA have made a mind-boggling discovery on Mars - which may have come from an alien world.
The peculiar "Skull Hill" rock has left scientists scratching their heads with its bizarre features and incomprehensible existence.
6
6
6
The unbelievable find was made by Nasa's Perseverance rover while it was making its way down Witch Hazel Hill - part of the Jezero Crater which boffins believe used to be a lake.
But the rock they found proved to be truly out of this world - since it looked absolutely nothing like its surrounding area.
When the high-tech rover approached the incredible formation it observed angular rocks, some of which may have originated from someplace else.
The puzzling find has left scientists stumped.
READ MORE TECH NEWS
Although most of the surrounding terrain is light-coloured and dusty, "Skull Hill" is different due to it being dark, angular, and littered with tiny pits.
Ph.D. student and Nasa worker Margaret Deahn said that this made it seem like the groundbreaking discovery had been dropped there from another place.
In another mysterious find, the rover also stumbled across a variety of neat rocks which also may have been brought here by something or someone else.
Deahn also said that these were the same types of rocks found in the "Skull Hill" discovery.
Most read in Science
BRIGHT SPARKJapan summons LIGHTNING from skies with adrone in bid to generate FREE power
SPECTACLE'Impossible colours' you CAN'T see as scientists discover mystery new hue 'Olo'
SPACE O-DYSSEYGiant DOUGHNUT-shaped spacecraft completes test mission
RED-DY FOR MARS!Exact type of odd lifeform that could live on brutal Mars surface revealed
Nasa boffins speculated that "Skull Hill" could have moved to Mars through an ancient impact or some sort of powerful natural event that they still do not understand.
Conspiracies swirl after Blue Origin ‘gaffe’ as hatch opened ‘from inside’
They also thought it may have been the result of a meteorite.
But Perseverance's laser-powered SuperCam debunked this theory.
It checked nearby rocks but confirmed the discovery didn't have enough iron or nickel to be a typical space rock.
Another theory suggested that Skull Hill is an igneous rock, formed after lava or magma cooled.
This could have occurred millions or even billions of years ago.
"Luckily for us, the rover has instruments that can measure the chemical composition of rocks on Mars," Deahn said.
She hinted that more tests would come in the future so that researchers can get to the bottom of this strange phenomenon
It comes after some of the UK's best scientists told The Sun that aliens may be lurking on a far-off ocean planet.
University of Cambridge astronomers said they are 99% sure they've seen the best sign of biological life on a planet "teeming with life".
A distant alien world called K2-18b is 120 lightyears away and roughly 2.5x the size of Earth - and now scientists speculate that alien life rests there.
Read More on The Sun
Lead scientist Professor Nikku Madhusudhan told The Sun: "It’s a question humanity has been asking for thousands of years.
"It’s a shock to the system. It takes time to recover from the enormity of it."
6
6
6
