Pareidolia Alert: Perseverance finds a stone sombrero

Episode 128
Surrounded by cobbles, boulders and large sand drifts, Perseverance struggled to find a way out. Its autonomous navigation system guided it along a looping path that ended within view of one of the strangest rocks ever seen on Mars.

[@edgeeffect]

I love the concept of "Percy" pointing at "the stone sombrero" and saying "hey... humans... have you seen this one?!!"

[@scootergrant8683]

Better yet, a small cartoon with a few panes showing a team member's sombrero being knocked into orbit by a comedically sized wind from the Curiosity launch. Later cutting to Perseverance shouting that it's found John's hat.

[@stephendoherty2010]

I want a Sombrero now! ..and listen to Carlos Santana!🇲🇽 🎸👩‍🌾❤️

[@realspacemodels]

Hats off to Perseverance!

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, good one!

[@adrianbulete]

I didn't knew that watching rocks can be so much fun! 😁 Congratulations and please keep up the good work! 👍🏆👏

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@woody5109]

*know

[@kaitlynlsari681]

When I saw THAT word I thought ohhhh boy here we go. The sombrero rock is interesting but my immediate thought was it looks like water aided erosion aided by water driving another harder rock which has since been ejected. We see similar features in river rocks in central Otago and also some quartzite ventifacts from poolburn valley, I had one in my rock collection for years but it was very heavy to lug around and I donated it to someone who liked it. Chaotic turbulent conditions give rise to interesting rock shapes, even surprise ones. Nice video Mars guy😄

[@MarsGuy]

I can't exclude water aided erosion, but any flowing water here would've been billions of years ago vs. wind still today.

[@cncshrops]

Have a 👍 for adding 'ventifacts' to my lexical repertoire.

[@JacksonBLee]

You don't know how much we appreciate these videos man! Keep up the good work!

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, glad you do!

[@quantumcat7673]

There was a Mexican under the hat but it decayed to dust.

[@LuisAldamiz]

A very tiny Mexican... mouse.

[@pauloalvesdesouza7911]

That's either Marvin the Martian's sombrero or an eroded fossilized egg of the rock eating worms that made those weird holes and shapes.

[@halletts1171]

"Stone Sombrero" Great name for a "rock"' band. Thanks Mars Guy!

[@MarsGuy]

Ha! Very punny.

[@baarni]

Always look forward to a mars guy video. Wouldn’t mind them being a bit longer😊

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, but I'm pretty much at the limit of how much time I can put into making these videos.

[@dave8181]

A new Mars guy episode, a highlight of my Sunday morning ❤

[@MarsGuy]

Glad to be part of it.

[@coralie9469]

I said it before and I'll say it again, "great place to go rock hunting and observing"!! Another great and interesting video Mr MARS, thanks so much!! But that sombrero adds an interesting flair to the scenery, Ole!!😆

[@MarsGuy]

Ha! Fun with strange rocks.

[@coralie9469]

@@MarsGuy Yep, gotta love the fun with those rocks, thanks for sharing!!

[@jonathanbush6197]

Great name for an acid-mariachi fusion band.

[@MarsGuy]

Nice!

[@Tjalve70]

"Hey, guys! Look what I found. I'm pointing straight at it!"

[@NicholasColdingDK]

Super nice photos!

[@TriVyteOfficial]

Great video. Keep it up man.. Wish we had more content like yours.

[@JenniferA886]

👍👍👍

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for the encouragement.

[@General_Confusion]

Definitive proof that very small Mexicans were the first to reach Mars. Or possibly came from Mars.

[@Hoopaball]

Wow did I subscribe fast! Thanks for the latest in Mars news. That guy probably lost his hat in Mar fight.

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, welcome aboard. And ha ha!

[@swishersweet3756]

TY Mars Guy, please keep us lowly Earthlings in the loop!

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, will do!

[@graemebrumfitt6668]

Rite Mars Dude, So much pareidolia happening in this vid I'm beginning to think these are what you say they are! 🤪 Would love to see the sombrero from the bottom! 🤔 Stay safe n well Dude. TFS, GB :)

[@MarsGuy]

Ha! Just having some fun with this one.

[@Valery0p5]

Glad to see the autonav is still working very efficiently!

[@MarsGuy]

I know, right!

[@donnanorth7324]

The sombrero: looks like something that formed on a cave floor out of mud and limestone byproducts, but requires overhead dripping water.

[@-mike-8134]

Man I am just dumbstruck at those rocks, there is nothing like them in the creek passing threw our property and it is full of rocks of all sizes and shapes. Thanks Mars Guy!

[@MarsGuy]

Yep, the Land of Odds!

[@dment0077]

0:48 Spectacular autonomous long drive over unknown terrain, made more spectacular because its was performed after the previous confusion of the looping drive. Kudos again to NASA and its engineers! No doubt, the terrain in this episode has a fantastic assortment of rocks! 🙂

[@MarsGuy]

Agreed!

[@Anmeteor9663]

Weekly news from Mars. Thanks

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for watching it.

[@-Thauma-]

New subscriber ❤

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, welcome aboard.

[@Sheaker]

Thank You Mars Guy! Great that Perseverance managed to drive out of those boulders. I wonder if there was a human involved or was it autonomous. Those rocks with holes are strange!

[@MarsGuy]

Yep, lots of strangeness, but now far in the rearview mirror, which is good. Likely the start of that long drive was directed by humans.

[@reichman73]

Even after all these months, I still find it awe-inspiring, almost in a "2001: A Space Odyssey" sense, that we are able to view the surface of Mars - Mars! - with such crystal clarity. It's almost like we are there. Thanks so much for putting these extraordinary videos together.

[@MarsGuy]

So glad you still feel a sense of awe! Thanks for the encouraging comment.

[@steveDC51]

I really admire and appreciate the work you do on this channel.

[@welshpete12]

Goes for me too !

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks. I appreciate your comment.

[@Miata822]

There is/was some interesting process happening in that location.

[@rjung_ch]

Thanks! 👍💪✌

[@MarsGuy]

You bet!

[@garyknight8616]

Great update as always. Really appreciate your hard work.

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks again!

[@wbwarren57]

Great video, thank you! Thanks for taking the time to make sense of the folks happening here.

[@MarsGuy]

And thank you for watching.

[@clairerobsin]

could be the remnants of some hearty Martian meal - a Mexican dish maybe.

[@chlorineismyperfume]

I saw a squashed mango in a bowl 😂 And yes, ammonite shell came to mind. Very intriguing shapes, I look forward to what the team figure out.

[@thatotherguy7596]

I tip my stone hat to you sir. Another excellent video. 👍

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, good one! Thanks.

[@neatodd]

Your videos are better than anything produced by JPL/NASA

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for that.

[@minu42yu]

NASA should put MarsGuy on their payroll and help in growing the audience of this channel. You do great science communication with this channel, which is surely not simple and easy to maintain while working at the University.

[@MarsGuy]

@@minu42yu Thanks for your appreciative and encouraging words.

[@Stratboy999]

Fascinating stuff. Thanks.

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@cibinskymojo5750]

Thank you again, Mars Guy. Great video as usual. Love the rocks! I'm glad Perseverance got out of that dune.

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks as usual for watching and commenting.

[@jangivik1718]

I’m so grateful you posting this videos… it have given me a sense how it looks and feels on the red planet… can’t wait for the first manned mission!!!

[@MarsGuy]

I'm grateful you appreciate this content. Thanks for the comment.

[@johnnyhunter]

The stone sombrero is going to make a fine collector's piece in some billionaire's art gallery someday.

[@rj66600]

You know the conspiracy theorists will eat this one up.

[@middleagedwhitebloke]

Thank you Mars Guy.

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks again for watching.

[@raybeauvais296]

It must so frustrating sometimes to have to roll past so many rocks simply because you have to avoid wearing down your hammer.

[@lamarw7757]

Very much appreciate using Mars Guy for reference.

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, glad you do.

[@pixelchi]

If the Martian who lost his sombrero needs a new one, there's one on display and available for the taking at Mexican Hat, Utah.

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, just a bit bigger!

[@Joe-jv5mm]

Always a Pleasure to watch your Channel

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, glad you're watching.

[@randalllewis4485]

All this wonderful high tech and humans still need string to measure some things. Very cool. I'm very glad, but not really surprised, that Percy solved its puzzle in the sand dune.

[@MarsGuy]

Yeah, I gave up trying to figure out a digital way to do it!

[@robinhodgkinson]

All that watching for lions in the undergrowth practice sure has improved our object recognition. Why just this morning I saw a Martian in my muesli. Swimming no less!

[@MarsGuy]

Ha ha!

[@maverick9708]

Clearly its a sign that the Martians are trolling us back after they saw our broadcast about the Mexican government alien news story. so while we werent looking, they came out of hiding and planted the sombrero carving souvenir that they brought back 😄

[@MarsGuy]

Ha!

[@kenleach1198]

Very interesting. Thanks ❤

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you think so.

[@davidgpeterson]

Proof that El Macho got to Mars…

[@B0Boman]

Hey, I have a recommendation for what to call this rock formation with so many recognizable shapes: The Yard Sale!

[@tinkertailor7385]

When you think about it though, those rocks have been lying there for the best part of three to four billion years. It's a long time to be lying there.

[@GearHeadedHamster]

Perseverance would look so dashing wearing that stone hat on his mast cam.

[@AceSpadeThePikachu]

Some day in the distant future Mars rocks will make great displays in museums.

[@JenniferA886]

Yip… deffo a Mexican/ Martian sombrero 👍👍👍

[@jackieking1522]

These rocks have been gently sandblasted for 3 billion years. Peculiar patterns to be expected with nothing comparable to Earthbound structures?

[@696303]

Right!! The winds on Mars have surely a very low, but real abrasive power on Mars because of the very low atmospere, which explains we can see very funny pictures like small grains at the extremity of a very thin filament!

[@Jack-ne8vm]

Fascinating

[@GronGrinder]

It's a radar jammer!!! The Mexicans are living on Mars!!!!

[@neilbain8736]

What wonderful geology. Given Mars' lower gravity, is there a limit as to how dense an object can get and would this contribute to the weird stuff we're seeing?

[@MarsGuy]

Mineral density is independent of gravity but sedimentary rocks could perhaps be less compacted than the equivalent on Earth.

[@bobpourri9647]

Must......resist.....border.....wall.....jokes!

[@JenniferA886]

It’s a Mexican hat? 👍👍👍

[@LuisAldamiz]

Those hollowed rocks are definitely weird. They seem as if they were originally constituted in some sort of layering (hard out, generally softer or even hollow interior). How's that possible? IDK, I'm no geologist, but I would consider maybe volcanic hollow "pilows" of the kind that are created when lava flows into the sea (or water in general). Any other good wild guess?

[@MarsGuy]

I suspect that most of the boulders came from outside of Jezero crater, where there are lots of rocks made from volcanic ash deposits.

[@ericfielding2540]

Very interesting to see many rocks in the same area with similar strange erosion features. It does seem like they may have experienced the same sequence of processes over the time that they were carried by the ancient river. The water in the river might have done some chemical alterations on the outside that made a hard crust that was later eroded by the wind.

[@MarsGuy]

Yes, "case hardening" may play a role.

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

Size references are what sets this Channel at the top. Looks like something crashed there a long time ago. A lot of that is symmetrical and looks mechanical. We have seen almost every rock shape on Earth, none are concave and circular, I think that bump in the middle is a rock, but it's sitting inside something that is not "a Rock"

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you appreciate the size references.

[@AerialWaviator]

Episode 128 will be remembered for "Stone Sombrero Flicker Vision" (2:15).

[@MarsGuy]

I hope it is!

[@bennyandersen742]

So, artificial intelligence on Mars, right? You just don't ignore a hat, even if very trivial.

[@TropicalCoder]

I can't get over the effects of wind erosion on a planet with an atmosphere that is practically a vacuum in comparison with Earth's atmosphere. For me it is counter intuitive that "wind" on Mars, such as it may be, could carve out those rocks to such an extent yet may have a fraction of the force of a baby's breath. However, when I consider those rocks may have been sitting there on the surface exposed for maybe 3 billion years, that is an inconceivable amount of time in which striking a rock with a single grain of sand dailey could eventually grind it down into the shapes we see.

[@MarsGuy]

True.

[@huw3851]

pareidolia - what a good word.

[@MarsGuy]

I know, right!

[@markebedwell9973]

Rocks, rocks , and more rocks.

[@slabrankle9588]

I don't understand how those land forms have survived for so long. It's been two billion years since water flowed in that river bed. How come it's not completely eroded away or buried? Actually, what's the best guess on how long it's been since water flowed there?

[@LuisAldamiz]

The atmosphere is extemely thin and thus the wind as well. Eolic erosion is a thing but the strongest erosion is caused by water (here on Earth, obviously not on Mars). Those rocks are eroded anyhow, it's not so easy to tear down a rock, even if it was hollow (as I suspect).

[@wotireckon]

Did the NASA scientists adequately consider what would happen if Perseverance came across a 'STOP' sign?

[@ProjectPhysX]

Will Percy pick up this rock and mount it on its mast top sample storage site?

[@465maltbie]

The sombrero :D

[@stefanschneider3681]

Always fun! Thx!

[@MarsGuy]

Glad it is!

[@dubsar]

Did Mexico just beat the Indian space agency?

[@LuisAldamiz]

You just wait. Mexico is growing very fast.

[@dubsar]

@@LuisAldamiz "The spice must flow..."

[@IbnBahtuta]

We should change its name from Mars to Pareidolia, it even sounds better and describes the average IQ on Earth at the same time, win-win.

[@damonbanks259]

... Escher and Dali on Mars with a mariachi band... Who knew?? 🤔 😉

[@MarsGuy]

Ha!

[@sjsomething4936]

Some of the rock features shown here look a lot like kettles, formed by rocks, water and sand moving in a vortex over tens if not hundreds of years.

[@rong1924]

It’s Gru’s chip hat. The guac is all dried out.

[@vincentmatthis]

That Flickr Perspective is great? New feature found.

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, glad you like it.

[@jadusiv]

I think solar radiation is also a powerful source of erosion on the rocks over these kinds of timespans, not just thermal expansion. On an asteroid we would be seeing thick layers of tholins after billions of years. Ionizing radiation + slight wind blasting likely chews up rock surprisingly fast.

[@take5th]

I trust the string.

[@Ferlyd]

Hey USA Mexico was first to get to Mars congratulations

[@drguenther]

Ammonite on mars… what are you dreaming of?🐚

[@MarsGuy]

The impossible dream!

[@Steve-si8hx]

Yeah lots of natural things look like things.

[@tomreichardt6044]

Mars Guy has the pareidolia.

[@MarsGuy]

Can't deny it!

[@AstroBenji88]

Is there a channel that provides similar updates for the Curiosity rover?

[@MarsGuy]

No, but the team does do regular blog posts: mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/

[@AstroBenji88]

@@MarsGuy Thanks!

[@jerwahjwcc]

That's a failed 3D Benchy print

[@Rmm1722]

nice

[@peteengard9966]

Could Mars be entirely made of loosely compacted sandstone? Easily wind errodded.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Doesn't look like those rocks are sandstone on the outside (metallic shine), I'm thinking of hollow volcanic "pillows" (created by lava on water) and then eroded partly showing the empty interior, then filled with some sand by the wind.

[@peteengard9966]

@@LuisAldamiz I'm not a geologist. But most of the rocks that the rovers look at looks very similar to salt water beach sandstone. Maybe the outer crust and discoloration is from the strong radiation due to the low atmosphere and lack of magnetic field? Interesting for sure.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@peteengard9966 - Fair enough, mine is a wild guess but, while I see sandy dust, the rocks that appeared in this video look "metallic" or at least "crystalline". Sandstone is merely compressed sand and typically has a grainy surface, even if the grains are tiny.

[@SaneGuyFr]

Stupid conspiracy theorists will say that it's faked in mexico 😂

[@sidstevens9035]

Sand blasting ? Not in what is essentially a virtual vacuum. Maybe billions of years ago when Mars had a semblance of an atmosphere !

[@aidanquick3151]

Wait, was this terrain under ice at one time?

[@sidstevens9035]

It's a poperdom !

[@shaundubai8941]

Perci is alive

[@AdrianBoyko]

Yeh-zeh-row

[@stianthomassen6693]

I'm thinking with so many strange shape at the same place, and cutting out the obvious explanation of a martian pottery maker with shacky hands, it seems it could be from an abrupt eruption of some sort with a gas/air and combined with the geology of the rock itself have created the shapes.Or it could just be the product of time, vind and sand(water?) over a billion years.

[@MarsGuy]

Your second explanation is the likely one.

[@chrisoconnor6579]

I think you have offended the algorithm gods at KZbin. Your video always shows up Sunday morning in my feed. This morning despite several refreshes and scrolling down many pages, it did not pop up. I had to find it manually. Disappointing for sure when I get garbage click bait videos cluttering up my feed and the real genuine contributions to society and ignored for their lack of catch phrases and trigger words in the title. Shame on you KZbin….

[@LuisAldamiz]

Subscribe!

[@dment0077]

Yes, those "algorithm gods" are irritating. Wish there existed an "open source youtube" 🙂

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for sidestepping the algorithm.