"Only two options have so far been identified as the rock’s source: 1) The rover either “flipped” the object as it maneuvered or, 2) it landed there, right in front of the rover, after a nearby meteorite impact event."
So, you know, our leading theories are that either the rover did it somehow, or, approximately 8-10 orders of magnitude less likely, we just witnessed a meteor strike. Really, nothing in between those two?
Well the first thing that came to my mind when reading the title was the phenomena of moving rocks in Nevada [1]. It could be similar but unlike them this doesn't seem to leave any trails.
The likelihood of the rover being responsible is really something only the guys actually controlling it could estimate.
I wouldn't discard weather as the cause, and I'd consider weather long before meteorites. While the martian atmosphere is very thin, it packs a good punch speed-wise. Maybe in edge cases that could be enough to pick up small rocks and have them rain down somewhere else (similar phenomena exist on Earth).
Another hypothesis would be that the rock was ejected by a gas vent. I have no idea about the temperature conditions at the rover site, but a gaseous plume could carry solid material with it if the release was forceful enough - showering the surrounding area with rocky material.
That's how scientists work, they figure out the possibilities, and work with the evidence from there. It's not done by guessing what's more probable, and you don't eliminate a possibility immediately just because it's less likely.
Pic 1 shows an indentation where the jelly sits in Pic 2. What if the light is hitting the rock on a different angle creating this effect of a raised surface.. maybe?
You're close to what I was imagining. I was thinking it's martians having a good time at our expense! "Watch the silly earthlings study this rock I'll put in their picture, lol!"
Honestly its not like we have many real options. The rover flipped it or it fell there sound good too me. The area is pretty open there so it didn't crack off another rock, let alone the shape precludes that.
"Only two options have so far been identified as the rock’s source: 1) The rover either “flipped” the object as it maneuvered or, 2) it landed there, right in front of the rover, after a nearby meteorite impact event."
So, you know, our leading theories are that either the rover did it somehow, or, approximately 8-10 orders of magnitude less likely, we just witnessed a meteor strike. Really, nothing in between those two?