Appearance of mystery rock alongside Mars rover Opportunity has tongues wagging

SILICON-based life form? Projectile hurled by little-green men? What's the fuss? A shiny rock has mysteriously materialised alongside a Mars rover.

SILICON-based alien life form? Projectile hurled by little-green men? What's the fuss? A shiny rock has mysteriously materialised alongside the Mars Opportunity rover.

Admittedly, the rover has just woken up after hibernating through the Martian winter since November.

When scientists compared before-and-after photos of the ground immediately around the robotic explorer, something was out of place.

A stone.

Looks like Opportunity's 'Pinnacle Island' appeared between Sols 3536 and 3540: http://t.co/DBT2yfJ7h8

— Midnight Planets (@MidnightPlanets) January 11, 2014

Not just any stone, it would seem.

It's been given the grand name "Pinnacle Island".

It has caused something of a stir among online communities.

GALLERY: 10 years of Mars rover photos

Alien life aside, speculation surrounds whether or not the rock is a meteorite or a piece of ejecta blown into the sky by some distant impact.

Had another go at colourising the images of "Pinnacle Island"... pic.twitter.com/FHpXy0lVY6

— mars_stu (@mars_stu) January 12, 2014

More mundane explanations could include it being a bit of road debris kicked up the rover's tyres as it did a tight turn to orientate its solar panels towards the spring sunrise.

Stay tuned.

NASA's bound to keep a close eye on this rolling stone.

Close up of "Pinnacle Island" the fascinating rock which Oppy has spotted... pic.twitter.com/FvaxlGo3Je

— mars_stu (@mars_stu) January 11, 2014

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