oxychlorine
OK-see-klor-in
Definition
Referring to chemical compounds that contain both oxygen and chlorine, specifically salts such as perchlorates that are found in Martian soil.
Etymology
The word is a chemical compound term formed by combining 'oxy-' from the Greek 'oxys' (meaning sharp or acid) and 'chlorine', which comes from the Greek 'chloros' (meaning pale green, referring to the element's color).
In the news
The article uses the term to describe the types of chemical compounds, specifically perchlorates, found by the Curiosity rover that help explain how ice might turn into brine on Mars.
NASA’s Viking 2 lander photographed frost forming on Mars in the 1970s. Nearly half a century later, a University of Arkansas researcher fed its old weather measurements into a model and found something Viking’s scientists never knew: for roughly 30 Martia
Read the full article ↗Space Daily