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FOSSILS ET AL.


HOW I HELPED NASA SCIENTISTS FIND A “POLAR BEAR” ON MARS


ARTICLES ABOUT SPACE NEED BETTER TITLES

Andrea Corpolongo, Ph.D.

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Fossils et al.

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The “polar bear” is actually a small cluster of salt crystals deposited in an
igneous rock. Salt crystals can tell us a lot about the water that was once on
the surface of Mars. The big picture A) shows the abraded patch of rock where we
found the salt crystals. The upper right picture B) is a zoomed-in image of the
salt crystals within the abraded patch. The lower right picture C) is a
high-resolution image of the salt crystals that was taken to support
spectroscopy — Image Credits: A) NASA/JPL-Caltech B) NASA/JPL-Caltech C)
NASA/JPL-Caltech. Images cropped and labeled by the author. Scale bar added to
A) by the author.

Last week I saw several headlines about a recently published paper that
demonstrates how carbon dioxide ice can create unusual seasonal geological
features scientists have observed on the surface of Mars. Some of the unusual
features discussed in the paper happen to look a little like spiders, so I’m
sure you can imagine the headlines.


SPIDERS ON MARS?

My “favorite” Martian spider headline comes from the website
Business-Standard.com. It reads, “‘Spiders on Mars’ fully awakened on Earth;
scientists at Nasa excited.” The article’s subtitle refers to “static Martian
arachnids.”

Of course, the text of the article soberly explains that the ‘spiders on Mars’
are geological features, and it turns out to be a concise, entertaining read.
But the damage is done by the headline, not the article.

It’s extremely challenging for anyone to think critically about each and every
headline that scrolls by them in a day. If my experience is typical, people home
in on the headlines they find most interesting and let the others pass by
without really considering them.

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WRITTEN BY ANDREA CORPOLONGO, PH.D.

83 Followers
·Writer for

Fossils et al.

Researcher studying microbial life on early Earth, the possibilities of life on
other planets, and philosophy of science. Also at archeanandrea.bsky.social

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