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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 June 22
    The image looks down on an orange rock on Mars. On the rock are many
     nearly spherical smaller rocks. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                      A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
                  Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Curiosity Rover

   Explanation: How were these unusual Martian spherules created?
   Thousands of unusual gray spherules made of iron and rock and dubbed
   blueberries were found embedded in and surrounding rocks near the
   landing site of the robot Opportunity rover on Mars in 2004. To help
   investigate their origin, Opportunity found a surface dubbed the Berry
   Bowl with an indentation that was rich in the Martian orbs. The Berry
   Bowl is pictured here, imaged during rover's 48th Martian day. The
   average size of a Martian blueberry rock is only about 4 millimeters
   across. By analyzing a circular patch in the rock surface to the left
   of the densest patch of spherules, Opportunity obtained data showing
   that the underlying rock has a much different composition than the
   hematite rich blueberries. This information contributes to the growing
   consensus that these small, strange, gray orbs were slowly deposited
   from a bath of dirty water.

    APOD Turns 30!: Free Public Lecture in Cork, Ireland on Tuesday, June
                                 24 at 7 pm
                       Tomorrow's picture: heart stars
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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