Oileán Ruaidh (pronounced "ill-lawn roo-ah") is a rock discovered on Mars in September 2010 by the
''Opportunity'' rover. It is a 45 centimeter wide dark rock that is thought to be an
iron meteorite
Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron me ...
. It was given the name ''Oileán Ruaidh'' ("Red Island") after the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
name of
Oileán Ruaidh island in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
See also
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External links
Mars Rover ''Opportunity'' Approaching Possible Meteorite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oilean Ruaidh (Mars rock)
Mars Exploration Rover mission
Meteorites found on Mars
Rocks on Mars
Iron meteorites