2-18-01

Is the Eye Faceted?

The "eye" on the Face. The apparent "faceted" "iris"-like structure rests in the middle of an almond-shaped depression, which in turn is surrounded by radiating "cells."

A close look at the "eye" as shown in the new Mars Global Surveyor Face photograph shows that the "pupil" (more accurately, the "iris" or "cornea") is a "squashed pyramid." While this structure deviates from the perfect circle expected by some, it is nonetheless difficult to reconcile with geological processes such as volcanic venting and meteor impact. If the "eye" depression is the eroded vestige of a crater, as suggested by some, then it's extremely unlikely that an elevated, clearly defined feature would exist in the center. It's my personal opinion that familiar geological processes could not have conspired to produce the Face's "eye."

A faceted "eye" may have once served as a light-reflecting device for its hypothetical builders. This seems to strengthen the contention that the Face was meant to be seen from above. Perhaps computer modeling can show us whether the uniquely "faceted" iris is in a position to reflect sunlight in a culturally significant manner and/or if this striking formation was designed to be seen from the direction of the "City."

Kynthia's clay rendering. Note presence of "eye" and "teardrop" on the Face (viewed in profile from the west).

"Shape-from-shading" analysis by Mark Carlotto shows that the Face retains a humanoid resemblance when seen from the ground. This finding was validated by an analogue sclupture by Kynthia based on the 1998 Face image. This discovery effectively buries NASA's "trick of light" explanation, which remains the agency's official position.

It should be reinforced that the "eye" was a predicted feature, not at all visible on the low-resolution Viking photos taken in the 1970s. The "eye," with its enigmatic "iris," constitutes a verified hypothesis favoring a non-natural origin of the Face mesa. Such evidence demands a serious re-appraisal of the Face by NASA.

The Cliff's "Great Wall"

The new image of the Cliff. See blowup of "ramp", or "wall," below.

In a previous article, I outlined the circumstances that point toward a possible artificial origin for the "Cliff." Robert Harrison, writing on his Cydonia Quest website, has provided a thorough and credible examination of the same feature, pictured below.

Harrison notes that the Cliff's central "wall" appears to be segmented. Moreover, the unusual white lines fringing its base -- similar to those lining the "Coathanger" -- invite speculation.

The Cliff seen in context. Note possible excavated impact ejacta to right of Cliff.

Harrison argues that the "wall" shows signs of structural stress consistent with having existed concurrently with the impact left its "splash"-style crater to the immediate right. If so, this may detract from the "artificial horizon" hypothesis proposed by Richard Hoagland in "The Monuments of Mars." (The Cliff is parallel to the Face; proposed inhabitants of the City could have seen the Face superimposed before the Cliff in an unknown astronomical/cultural context.)

With or without the attendant crater, the Cliff and its massive central wall present a challenge to geological models. It appears "modular," as if built out of architectural "vertebrae." And its presence atop the tapered Cliff mesa seems all-but-inexplicable; so far as I know, there is not a comparable feature elsewhere on Mars.

As noted elsewhere, the "chewed"-looking terrain to the Cliff's immediate right suggests a possible excavation. Seen in high-resolution, this terrain appears criss-crossed with small curving fractures, many of which are filled with curious parallel lines.

2-23-01

Exotic "Boulders": Macroscopic Life on Mars?

A group of students was recently allowed to position the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) aboard the Mars Gloval Surveyor. The students' widely publicized image of the Martian surface shows a scattering of dark material on a windswept Martian desert. While NASA identifies these formations as "boulders," it's possible they are dark photosynthetic organisms, or "colonies" of darkly pigmented microbial life.

Martian anomalies continue to mount at an incredible rate. Even conservative author/scientist Arthur C. Clarke has expressed bewilderment with some of the new features under investigation, particularly the enormous "worm" seen below. A concentrated effort to reimage anomalies at the best possible illumination and resolution way well be the trigger for a serious proposal for finally sending humans to the Red Planet.

Renewed interest in the "worm" has focused on the reflective, spherical (?) object seen embedded within the feature's transparent "carapace." While some interpret the worm as a "pipe" of some sort (either for transportation or for channeling water in the distant past), it's perhaps more likely the "worm" is the frozen carcass of an organism not unlike the "sandworms" of Frank Herbert's novel "Dune."

2-26-01

Water Stains and Martian Life?

Mars anomalist Efrain Palermo has catalogued dozens of enigmatic "leaks" or "stains" on the surface of Mars that can be reasonably attributed to the presence of flowing water. NASA has endorsed similar stains in the Valles Marineris region as evidence of liquid water but maintains, less-than-convincingly, that stains elsewhere on Mars are dust flows.

Typical Martian "stain." Liquid or dust?

Palermo accurately notes that Martian winds quickly scatter particles on the planet's surface, and that it's unlikely that the alleged "dust flows" could persist for any length of time before becoming scattered and blurred. In the graphic below, Palermo shows a known dust streak next to one of the many anomalous "stains." The latter feature shows no signs of streaking. The bottom-most picture is a computer simulation of what the "stain" in question would look like if it is indeed composed of nothing more than dark dust.

Last but not least, the stains' dark color could be due to photosynthetic pigments. "Where there is water, there is life" is something of a biological axiom here on Earth. If Palermo's stains indeed show water, then it's not unreasonable to expect them to be seething with primitive life. NASA's pending announcement of confirming evidence of past life on Mars also raises the possibility that Palermo's stains are partly composed of organic magnetite.

Richard Hoagland's research parallels discoveries made by Palermo and others. The Enterprise Mission equates some of the more complex structures affiliated with possible Martian life with "organic technology."

3-2-01

Hoagland's "Tunnel": Geology, Biology, or Technology?

The "worm" or "tunnel." Interestingly enough, similar "ribbed" structures can be found in Cydonia. Is this evidence of technology, biology or geology?

The anomalous Martian "tunnel" (or "worm") discovered by Richard Hoagland and documented on his Enterprise Mission website has enjoyed increased attention after Arthur C. Clarke cited it as evidence of possible life. Life or not, the "worm" remains unexplained, and poses questions for researchers who entertain the prospect of a prior technological civilization on the Red Planet.

Whatever the "tunnel" is, it's enormous: a seemingly translucent cylindrical formation resting in a gouge in the Martian surface, giving the impression of a subterranean "pipe." And it might be just that. In Hoagland's scenario, the worm, and other features of the same basic description, comprise the remains of an intricate water-channeling system comparable to the infamous "canals" described by astronomer Percival Lowell in the 19th century.

If complexes such as the one in Cydonia are indeed fragments of a long-vanished Martian civilization, then the "tubes" could have served as an aquatic infrastructure, transferring water from permafrost and lake regions to Martian "cities." This scenario is particularly Bradburian in its portrayal of Mars as a dying world, inhabited by beings dependent on an insulated water supply in the face of postulated temperature changes, atmospheric thinning and meteor bombardment.

Hoagland also speculates that the alleged "tunnel system" could have been used to transport goods. In other words, the "worm" might be a derelict Martian Autobahn.

Ruling out a geological interpretation for the sake of argument, the "worm" may be a literal "worm" of unlikely dimensions. The image captured by the Mars Global Surveyor may show a giant fossil of some sort, although the apparent reflective sphere inside of the structure implies an even more exotic explanation. Could the "worm" be an example of existing Martian life? The likelihood is extremely low, but is within our ability to test: future images of the same region will show us if the "sandworm" has changed position or moved in a manner consistent with living organisms. For example, if the unknown object in the "worm's" "throat" is a bolus of some mind, we might reasonably expect to see it in a different position (if it is indeed being "digested" or transported from one end of the tube to another).

John Velez, posting on "UFO UpDates," astutely notes that the arched "rings" that constitute the "worm's" segments seem to be the widest around the mystery object, as if the rings are flexible and capable of peristalsis.

Speculative rendering of an ancient, aquatic Mars.

This trait may also be interpreted in technological terms. For example, Hoagland and Mike Bara propose that certain features on Mars indicate "organic technology." If the "worm" is an automaton of some kind, one cannot help but wonder if it was used for something other than a transportation conduit or pipeline. Maybe, in an attempt to "terrraform" Mars after the disaster that killed the planet's oceans and atmosphere, the always-hypothetical Martians made use of giant organic or cybernetically contrived soil-processing machines. This is obvious speculation, but not nearly as bizarre as it seems; the concept of self-replicating machines (i.e., mobile "greenhouse gas factories") have been a central interest among groups wanting to "terraform" Mars into a habitable world for eventual human colonization.

The hypothesis that the "worm" is a geological oddity remains in contention, although what processes could have produced such an apparent glassine, arched structure remain undetermined. If geological, I suspect the "worm's" origins are volcanic (extreme heating and flow might somehow conspire to create the transparent walls through vitrification). But given the evidence and noted lack of insight on behalf of planetary geologists, an exotic explanation seems more most tempting. The "tunnel's" implications, seen in light of the Artificiality Hypothesis, are nothing less than remarkable.

Hoagland and Palermo Tackle the Riddle of the "Stains"

Acting on a suggestion by Richard Hoagland, anomalist Efrain Palermo (see above) has undertaken a global mapping of the probable liquid "stains" catalogued on his website. If correlations to the Martian equator (and/or areas of relatively high atmospheric pressure) can be demonstrated, a hydrologic explanation for the "weeping" sands of Mars will gain additional merit.

3-6-01

Martian "Tunnels": Weird Geology After All?

An image has surfaced showing additional Martian "tubes." While these are exceedingly strange in terms of familiar geological processes, they appear more natural than the "tunnel" described above. Are we looking at variations of the same geological anomaly or more evidence of a demolished Martian infrastructure?

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