NASA Discovers life On Mars

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/07/nasa-curiosity-rover-spots-iguana-on-mars/

NASA's Mars Rover has captured the image of a rock that looks just like an iguana.

The iguana doppleganger was first spotted by the website UFO Sightings Daily who found the photograph on NASA's archives of dozens of images of the barren landscape surrounding the Curiosity Rover.

So this is what passes for science journalism in the US? That explains a lot...

Funny picture though .

Sadly... yes.

Considering that the US has a rover (or a few rovers) on mars, while all of Europe has none, I'd revise that statement if I were you . . .

He wasn't talking about NASA and other smart folk. He was referring to journalists and other not so smart folk.

As a geologist, I've helped excavate numerous fossils for several museums here in the Western US and sometimes would not immediately recognize a rock as a fossil. While that rock does share some similarities with an iguana, being on Mars would probably indicate it was something different.

Perhaps during the past in better climatic conditions when Mars might have supported such life, this creature was trapped in blowing sand or other possible ways it could have been 'captured' in such a pose and over time its tissues replaced by mineralization from near surface waters. As remote as the possibility that it could be, it would be interesting if in fact this is evidence of past life on Mars that over the years, has been exposed by wind erosion of the surrounding matrix.

As for scientific journalism (and education) here in the US, while it can be fun fanaticizing about things, a bit of science could have been included in the article. From working as a National Park Ranger during summers from college, one of my many duties was bringing park visitors on cave 'tours' and describing things along the way. Each ranger had their own unique way of presenting the cave to our visitors. I recall one week when several hundred students on a month long science trip by an organization back east stopped to go through the cave. For safety and cave preservation, groups were limited to about 20 at a time. Though not scheduled to do so on the second day, I was requested and reassigned to take more groups through that day and the next.

While I was waiting for the students (high school age) to get organized, the leader commented that she enjoyed my talk the previous day through the cave about the geology and relating things to my previous experience as a spelunker and requested me for their groups. She said some of the other rangers were more like "game show hosts" when they spoke about the cave features..."Anyone know what that is? It's the Pillsbury Dough Boy" and "Look, there's Snow White". I must admit, I never could make out that one and would never spend the precious time we had with the visitors to describe/convince people of it.

I politely explained to her that not all rangers were geologists with cave experience and delivered the best they could do while protecting the cave features for other visitors to enjoy. And depending on where we were in the cave and what group I was working with, I too would occasionally throw in something like "We call that stalagmite "Jabba the Hutt", Stalagmite...G for ground where mites walk and stalactite...C for ceiling where they hold on tight; that's just the teacher in me surfacing.

But I agree, it would be nice if news organizations, especially ones the size of FOX, could hire journalists with science backgrounds to do the science related stories or at least mix some science in with the story for educational purposes.