Science Pics of the Week: Nightmare from the 'midnight zone'

Friday, August 7, 2015, 12:18 PM - A creature straight out of our most horrific fever dreams, an amazing journey over the mystery features on dwarf planet Ceres and tantalizing new views of Mars. It's Science Pics of the Week!

New species from the "midnight zone"

Deep marine life experts Theodore Pietsch and Tracey Sutton discovered a new species of Anglerfish in the Gulf of Mexico this year, down in the darkness of the "midnight zone," between 1,000-1,500 metres below the water's surface.

Say hello to the newest member of the Oneirodidae family - a Ceratioid Anglerfish of the genus Lasiognathus Regan.

Credit: Theodore Pietsch, Ph.D., University of Washington

"As a researcher, the one thing I know is that there’s so much more we can learn about our oceans," said Dr. Sutton, an associate professor at Nova Southeastern University, in Dania Beach, Florida. "Every time we go out on a deep-sea research excursion there’s a good chance we’ll see something we’ve never seen before - the life at these depths is really amazing."

"Finding this new species reinforces the notion that our inventory of life in the vast ocean interior is far from complete," Dr. Sutton added. "Every research trip is an adventure and another opportunity to learn about our planet and the varied creatures who call it home."

According to Nova Southeast University News:

At the ocean depths this fish lives in, there is no sunlight. The only light is that from creatures that produce bioluminescence, which means they generate their own light source. Also, at these depths, the pressure is immense – over one ton (2,200 pounds) per square inch. And the fight for food is never-ending. That’s why these fish have developed their unique way of attracting prey – from the appendage at the top of their head, which resembles a fishing pole of sorts. And, like its human counterparts, this fish dangles the appendage until an unsuspecting fish swims up thinking they found a meal, only to quickly learn that they are, in fact, a meal themselves.

Fly above the amazing mystery features of Ceres

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is currently spiraling down to its second last orbital height - HAMO (High Altitude Mapping Orbit) - to capture even more amazing photographs of dwarf planet Ceres. In the mean time, while we wait, the NASA team has produced this awesome video, taking us on a flight over the cratered surface and some of its most mysterious features - the bright spots of Occator crater and a six-kilometre high "lonely mountain" that's almost pyramid-like in structure.

"The science team is continuing to evaluate the data and discuss theories about these bright spots at Occator," said Chris Russell, Dawn's principal investigator at the University of California, Los Angeles, according to NASA. "We are now comparing the spots with the reflective properties of salt, but we are still puzzled by their source. We look forward to new, higher-resolution data from the mission's next orbital phase."

"This mountain is among the tallest features we've seen on Ceres to date," said Paul Schenk, a geologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, who is on the Dawn science team. "It's unusual that it's not associated with a crater. Why is it sitting in the middle of nowhere? We don't know yet, but we may find out with closer observations."

Dawn is expected to reach HAMO sometime over the next week, with its next observation campaign set to start August 17. This should provide the closer images the science team is looking for, to potentially solve these mysteries, but who knows what further details will be revealed over the next two months?

New views from Mars rovers and potential views for new Mars rover

Mars rovers Curiosity and Opportunity are returning some incredible new images of their surroundings, as Curiosity ventures further up the slopes of Mount Sharp and Opportunity descends the slopes into Marathon Valley.

Gravel and sand ripples fill the foreground, typical of terrains that Curiosity traversed to reach Mount Sharp from its landing site. Outcrops in the midfield are of two types: dust-covered, smooth bedrock that forms the base of the mountain, and sandstone ridges that shed boulders as they erode. Rounded buttes in the distance contain sulfate minerals, perhaps indicating a change in the availability of water when they formed. Some of the layering patterns on higher levels of Mount Sharp in the background are tilted at different angles than others, evidence of complicated relationships still to be deciphered. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS - TAP OR CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Opportunity drove into Marathon Valley in July 2015, some six Earth years after the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected exposures of clay minerals there. Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs), which form the ripple field, on the floor of Endeavour Crater, are beautifully visible in this false color image processed by the Panoramic Camera (Pancam) team. "I think you're going to get used to seeing some pretty spectacular images from this place," said MER Principal Investigator, Steve Squyres, of Cornell University. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU/Planetary Society

NASA's next rover mission, the currently unnamed Mars 2020 rover, will be sent to the Red Planet to pick up where Curiosity's search has been leading us, specifically to look for definitive signs of past life. Scientists met this week to discuss potential landing sites for the mission, and these are the top five so far:

1. Nili Fossae, N of Isidis Planitia (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/U of Arizona), 2. Jezero Crater, on the northwestern edge of Isidis Planitia (Credit: U of Arizona/HiRISE-LPL), 3. Northeast Syrtis Major, W of Isidis Planitia (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/U of Arizona), 4. Holden Crater, SE of Valles Marineris (Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin), 5. Melas Basin, SW of Valles Marineris (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/U of Arizona). Background images: NASA/MOLA Science Team

These sites are concentrated around Isidis Planitia, a giant impact crater in northern hemisphere that likely formed a large gulf - similar to the Gulf of Mexico - in Mars' ancient northern ocean, and Valles Marineris, the immense stretch of canyons that lies just north of the equator in Mars' eastern hemisphere. Each offers exciting potential for exploration, and the possibility of finding signs of past life, and although it seems that the Isidis Planitia sites are the front-runners, seeing Valles Marineris close up would be incredible. The team is focused on the treasure trove of data that these sites could hold, though, so that, along with landing logistics, will likely be the deciding factors.

Sources: Nova Southeast University | NASA/JPL-Caltech | Planetary Society - Marc Rayman | NASA/JPL-Caltech | Planetary Society - MER Update | DNews