ALBERT

Description: The eolian bedform within Gale Crater referred to as "Rocknest" was investigated by the science instruments of the Curiosity Mars rover. Physical, chemical and mineralogical results are consistent with data collected from soils at other landing sites, suggesting a globally-similar composition. Results from the Curiosity payload from Rocknest should be considered relevant beyond a single, localized region with Gale Crater, providing key insights into planetary scale processes.

Description: A significant portion of the soil of the Rocknest dune is crystalline and is consistent with derivation from unweathered basalt. Minerals and their compositions are identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) data from the CheMin instrument on MSL Curiosity. Basalt minerals in the soil include plagioclase, olivine, low- and high-calcium pyroxenes, magnetite, ilmenite, and quartz. The only minerals unlikely to have formed in an unaltered basalt are hematite and anhydrite. The mineral proportions and compositions of the Rocknest soil are nearly identical to those of the Adirondack-class basalts of Gusev Crater, Mars, inferred from their bulk composition as analyzed by the MER Spirit rover.

Description: The meteorites Dho 225 and Dho 735 were recently found in Oman. Studies of their mineralogical and chemical composition suggest that these unusual meteorites are thermally metamorphosed CM2 chondrites [1,2,3]. Similar to Antarctic metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites, the Dho 225 and Dho 735 are enriched in heavy oxygen compared to normal CMs [1,2]. However, IR studies indicating dehydration of matrix phyllosilicates are needed to confirm that the two new meteorites from Oman are thermally metamorphosed [4]. Synchrotron-based IR microspectroscopy is a new promising technique which allows the acquisition of IR spectra from extremely small samples. Here we demonstrate that this non-destructive technique is a useful tool to study hydration states of carbonaceous chondrites in situ. In addition, we acquired reflectance spectra of bulk powders of the Dho 225 and Dho 735 in the range of 0.3-50 microns.

Description: The investigation of Home Plate and its surroundings in the Inner Basin of the Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater has added substantially to the water story on Mars. Textural, morphological, and geochemical evidence from Home Plate point towards an explosive origin, probably a hydrovolcanic explosion [1]. High silica deposits in the immediate vicinity of Home Plate suggest hydrothermal alteration [e.g. 2,3]. Pervasively altered deposits rich in hematite were investigated to the southeast of Home Plate. Of these, the target Halley, the target KingGeorgeIsland on the GrahamLand outcrop, and the targets Montalva and Riquelme on the Troll outcrop were investigated in situ with the Alpha Particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS), the Microscopic Imager (MI), and the Moessbauer (MB) spectrometer (Fig. 1).

Description: The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit landed in Gusev crater on Jan. 4, 2004. Spirit has traversed the Gusev crater plains, ascended to the top of Husband Hill, and entered into the Inner Basin of the Columbia Hills. The Athena science payload onboard Spirit has recorded numerous measurements on the chemistry and mineralogy of materials encountered during nearly 2 Mars years of operation within the crater. Rocks and soils have been grouped into classes based upon their unique differences in mineralogy and chemistry [1-3]. Some of the most significant chemical discoveries include the composition of Adirondack class flood basalts [4-6]; high sulfur in Clovis and Peace Class rocks [7,2]; high P and Ti in Wishstone Class rocks [7,2]; composition of alkalic basalts [2,6]; very high S in Paso Robles class soils [7,2], and the possible occurrence of a smectite-like chemical composition in Independence class rocks [8]. Water has played a significant role in the alteration of rocks and soils in the Columbia Hills. The occurrence of goethite and ferric sulfate alone suggests that liquid water was involved in their formation [3]. The pervasively altered materials in Husband Hill outcrops and rocks may have formed by the aqueous alteration of basaltic rocks, volcaniclastic materials, and/or impact ejecta by solutions that were rich in acid-volatile elements [2]. The objective of this paper is to provide an update on the health of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and to expand the geochemical dataset from sol 470 to sol 1368. Specific objectives are to (1) update the rock and soil classifications, (2) characterize elemental relationships among the major rock and soil classes, and (3) evaluate the involvement of water in the formation or alteration of the materials in these classes.

Description: We report preliminary results from a program to identify optical counterparts of ROSAT sources in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) region. The most striking X-ray feature reported by Hasinger et al. (1991) is an extended low surface brightness region of X-ray emission. Within the two X-ray contours of highest count rate we find a cluster of galaxies at a redshift of 0.09 and an early-type galaxy at a redshift of 0.03. X-ray emission from these objects may provide an explanation for the observed X-ray morphology. We also find evidence that other X-ray sources in this region are coincident with clusters or groups of galaxies at redshifts between 0.08 and 0.09. The presence of at least five X-ray detected clusters or groups in this narrow redshift band within a 1.5 deg radius field seems to indicate the existence of a moderate redshift supercluster. The existence of these clusters will have major implications for the study of large-scale structure through X-ray surveys such as ROSAT.

Description: The Curiosity Rover landed in a lithologically and geochemically diverse region of Mars. We present a recommended rock classification framework based on terrestrial schemes, and adapted for the imaging and analytical capabilities of MSL as well as for rock types distinctive to Mars (e.g., high Fe sediments). After interpreting rock origin from textures, i.e., sedimentary (clastic, bedded), igneous (porphyritic, glassy), or unknown, the overall classification procedure (Fig 1) involves: (1) the characterization of rock type according to grain size and texture; (2) the assignment of geochemical modifiers according to Figs 3 and 4; and if applicable, in depth study of (3) mineralogy and (4) geologic/stratigraphic context. Sedimentary rock types are assigned by measuring grains in the best available resolution image (Table 1) and classifying according to the coarsest resolvable grains as conglomerate/breccia, (coarse, medium, or fine) sandstone, silt-stone, or mudstone. If grains are not resolvable in MAHLI images, grains in the rock are assumed to be silt sized or smaller than surface dust particles. Rocks with low color contrast contrast between grains (e.g., Dismal Lakes, sol 304) are classified according to minimum size of apparent grains from surface roughness or shadows outlining apparent grains. Igneous rocks are described as intrusive or extrusive depending on crystal size and fabric. Igneous textures may be described as granular, porphyritic, phaneritic, aphyric, or glassy depending on crystal size. Further descriptors may include terms such as vesicular or cumulate textures.

Description: Images of the gravitational lens 2237+0305 acquired in good seeing have resolved the system into at least five components within the central few arsec of the object: the galaxy nucleus and four point sources in a ringlike formation approximately centered on the galaxy. It is found that the four point sources are distinctly bluer than the galaxy, but that they do not have identical colors. The observed configuration is well reproduced by a simple model that assumes that the four objects are images of the quasar and that the lens is a constant mass-to-light ratio, elliptical, de Vaucouleurs bulge.

Description: Moderate-resolution slit spectroscopy of the extended emission-line objects A1 and B1 located within 5 arcsec of the triple radio source 2016 + 112 shows that at least one is physically associated with the z = 3.273 quasar thought to be multiply imaged by a foreground galaxy. The data and theoretical models unanimously favor the identification of A1 and B1 with two separate clouds of ionized gas that lie within a few kiloparsecs of the primary A/B QSO and radio source. The available evidence does not support the view that they are multiple images of a single object or their classification as separate (companion) galaxies.

Description: A survey for faint quasars has been conducted using slitless spectroscopy with the PFUEI at the 200 inch (5 m) telescope. The survey covers a total of 0.91 sq deg in 113 fields at galactic latitudes above 30 deg. Calibrated spectra in the range 4500-7200 A were obtained for more than 9000 objects. Emission-line candidates were selected on the basis of two criteria: the equivalent width must exceed 50 A, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the detection of the line versus the sky background should be larger than 7. Among 45 candidates so selected, subsequent slit spectroscopy confirmed 27 emission-line objects. Among these, 17 are emission-line galaxies with redshifts in the range 0.04-0.31, and 10 are quasars with redshifts between 0.91 and 2.66. The well-defined selection criteria for these objects, together with the distribution of rest frame equivalent widths of the emission lines, allow derivation of the area of sky covered as a function of the continuum limiting magnitude. The observed number of quasars in the redshift range 0.7-2.7 agrees well with that predicted by the luminosity function models published by Schmidt and Green in 1983. It is concluded that quasars with an absolute magnitude of M(B) = -25 suffer a redshift cutoff near or below a redshift of 3.