Does this NASA photo from the rover Opportunity show a wooden log on Mars? Hard to tell? Then look at the zoomed-in image, and ask again: is this a log (petrified or otherwise) on the surface of the Red Planet? Duh. No. But if you read some websites, you might think it is. So what"s going on here? The quick answer is: this is another in a long line of examples of pareidolia; people seeing familiar things in random or semi-random patterns. In other words, this looks like a log, but it ain"t. Remember the Martian Bigfoot? Yeah, this is the same kind of thing. How do I know? Well, lots of reasons.For one thing, this photo is from 2005.
Had any scientist studying Mars seen this and thought it was actually wood, I think they would have said something by now. Second, there"s no evidence at all of any macroscopic plant life on Mars. The vista shown here is a vast range of desert. What are the odds there would be a log smack dab in the way of the the rover as it moves across Mars? Note too that the tracks go right over the object; Opportunity literally ran it over. That means lots of people in the control room on Earth saw this object, yet no one said anything about it being a log. And if you think they"re covering it up, then why did they publish the image in a press release? Third, look to the right ofthe "log". There are two rocks that look a lot like it: That image is slightly different from the one I displayed above, with better contrast. See how the rocks are the same color as the "log"? And look at the patterns on the rocks; they"re the same too. The linear patterns even line up with those of the longer object! This indicates we"re looking at a rock here. And finally, fourth: I mean, c"mon. A log? On mars?: Sheesh.
View: Full Article | Source: Discover Magazine
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Posted on Wednesday, December 03 - 2008
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Reference : Bizarre, Mysteries of Mars
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Skull spotted on Mars
Climate change hits Mars
ESA prepares for manned mission to Mars
Russia plans to send monkey to Mars
Buzz Aldrin urges US to land on Mars
Europes Mars missions get final go-ahead
Massive blast created Mars moon
Synthetic life could be used on trips to Mars