The sudden appearance of a fist-sized, “jelly doughnut-shaped” rock on Mas has some space watchers excited.

The rock, nicknamed “Pinnacle Island,” is not present in photo sol 3528 from the Opportunity rover but is present in photo 3540. Like many of the Mars rover’s discoveries, this has produced some wild speculation. The truth, as it usually turns out, isn’t nearly as exciting.

There are currently two primary theories as to how the rock suddenly materialized. One theory holds that a nearby meteorite impact deposited the rock in front of the rover. The second, and most widely held, theory is that Opportunity itself is responsible.

“So my best guess for this rock … is that it’s something that was nearby. I must stress that I’m guessing now, but I think it happened when the rover did a turn in place a meter or two from where this rock now lies.” Steve Squyres of Cornell University told Discovery News.

One or two meters may seem like a long way for a rock that large to move simply by being kicked loose, however given a lack of other plausible theories it is the most likely.

This and other images from Mars can be found at NASA’s Mars rover website.

Source: Discovery News