Mars

"RADIUSED ROOF" in X3D Stereo

Details: Category: Mars; Written by David Gannett; Hits: 842

“RADIUSED ROOF” in X3D Stereo

Curiosity Sol 1450 M100 N-SE gigapan by Neville Thompson

Link: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/202222/snapshots/620415

Sedimentary boulders tumble down a steep, sandy slope in our context view. Broken slabs and weathered layers can often give a misleading appearance of non-fractality, i.e. being intelligently designed when in fact, it’s just the nature of sedimentary rock.

That said, over there on the left-hand side is a slab with rigidly-accurate ninety-degree angles.

Let’s take a closer look.

In our detail view, it seems rather difficult to reconcile whatever this is with a natural process. Take a look at the roof: rectangular, even thickness and ninety-degree angles. Look at the far corner and you can see that not only is the edge beveled, but that the entire slab has been nicely, evenly radiused along the entire visible perimeter down to the ninety-degree angles. Pretty impressive weathering!

It seems to be a pedestal of some kind. The base is even and symmetrical and the three layered triangular bas relief on the end is symmetrical as well.

Now granted, it is of course possible that an exposed boulder could weather in this fashion. But taking all the indicators listed above, it seems pretty unlikely.

It is either a rare and beautiful ventifact or a legitimate artifact of a lost civilization. Either way, it’s worth noting!

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“SO, HOW DO I VIEW X3D STEREO?”

Simple! While viewing the stereo pair at a comfortable distance, gently cross your eyes (no eye-strain) until you perceive three images all the same width. The one in the center is in 3D. Just relax into it and your eyes will automatically bring it into focus. Once you have it, you will never forget how to do it. Kinda like riding a bicycle…

For another, more detailed method of viewing X3D stereo, click HERE.

(Click for full-sized image)

"UNNATURAL PAIR" in X3D Stereo

Details: Category: Mars; Written by David Gannett; Hits: 730

“UNNATURAL PAIR” in X3D Stereo

Curiosity Sol 924 MR S PDS by Neville Thompson

Link: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/205533/snapshots/620408

Today’s context view shows another jumbled landscape peppered with anomalies, with two regular shapes catching the eye on the right-hand side.

Moving in for the detail view, two distinctly unnatural items lie juxtaposed in the Martian sand. In the rear, a flawless wedge presents itself. Its perfectly-radiused surface suggests it was once part of a circular tower. Look at the six ninety-degree angles; the perfect wedge of the side showing the meticulous work of a master stone mason.

Lying in front is...what? Whimsically, its shape calls to mind the starship “Enterprise”. But seriously, look at the perfect circle on the right side, the straight, even lines of the mid-sections and the squared-off box end that appears to go under the sand. A pedestal perhaps? A machine remnant? Part of the building the wedge came from? Whatever this unnatural pair represents, it remains mind-boggling the utter lack of curiosity on NASA’s part to examine such obviously non-fractal remains.

Often, it seems that naming the rover “Curiosity” was just a bad joke…

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“SO, HOW DO I VIEW X3D STEREO?”

For another, more detailed method of viewing X3D stereo, click HERE.

(Click for full-sized image)

"MARTIAN SCARAB" in X3D Stereo

Details: Category: Mars; Written by David Gannett; Hits: 814

“MARTIAN SCARAB” - a Mars X3D classic anomaly in X3D Stereo

Curiosity Sols 907-921 MR SW-NW PDS gigapan by Neville Thompson

Link:http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/205305/snapshots/620413

Big, bold and for once, clear, a host of anomalists presented this so-called “Martian Scarab” as soon as the images became available from NASA.

Once again a debris-laden sandy slope dominates our context view, with the large (est. four to six feet) boulder easily-seen at the lower right.

Going to our detail view, the strange sculpture (if that’s what it is) sports a bifurcated end, a T-shaped carving down the back and facing our view, a perfect rectangle with a neatly-carved hole in the center. Overall, the symmetry is too regular for natural processes, but what in blazes IS this thing? Its resemblance to the traditional Egyptian scarab is rather hard to set aside, but with enough difference evident to speak to its alien origin.

Whatever it is, it remains one of the first and clearest examples of NASA letting something slip by their relentless censorship.

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“SO, HOW DO I VIEW X3D STEREO?”

For another, more detailed method of viewing X3D stereo, click HERE.

(Click for full-sized image)

"ENGRAVED MARKER" in X3D Stereo

Details: Category: Mars; Written by David Gannett; Hits: 689

“ENGRAVED MARKER” in X3D Stereo

Curiosity Sol 906 MR S PDS gigapan by Nev-T

Link:http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/205531/snapshots/620411

Tumbling down the side of a sandy crater are scores of anomalous items, shattered and eroded remains of an ancient culture. Our context view has its focus on the upper left where an artifact lies half-buried at a 45-degree angle.

Moving in for the detail view, we find an urn-shaped rock about four feet long covered with intricate carvings, some of them quite deep. Was it a marker of some kind? An elaborate balustrade from some crumbled palace? The markings seem almost Navaho in nature, resembling the beautiful designs found on native pottery. It beggars the imagination to assign natural processes to so many intricate and regular angles, much less the bilateral symmetry of the piece itself, and yet skeptics slam their minds shut and reflexively proclaim “Rocks! Just rocks!”

Someday soon we’ll be able to walk over and actually examine these intriguing finds and determine once and for all whether indeed, they are “just rocks”.

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“SO, HOW DO I VIEW X3D STEREO?”

For another, more detailed method of viewing X3D stereo, click HERE.

(Click for full-sized image)

"RAMSES ON MARS" A Mars X3D Classic. Anomaly in X3D Stereo

Details: Category: Mars; Written by David Gannett; Hits: 811

A Mars X3D Classic Anomaly -

“RAMSES ON MARS” in X3D Stereo

Opportunity Victoria Crater, Cape St.Vincent

Link:http://gigapan.com/gigapans/155316/snapshots/620040

This classic anomaly was an early and explosive find that set even hard-core deniers back on their heels. There are numerous other anomalies associated with this (apparent) statue of “Ramses”, but this is the first time it has been available in X3D stereo.

Our context view shows the massive cliff face on one side of Victoria crater. The statue is nearly invisible in this view, neatly tucked into what appears to be a carved out crevice in the cliff face.

Zooming in, our detail view reveals what certainly appears to be an Egyptian-like statue carved in the style of the 19^thDynasty when Ramses II was at the peak of power. The inset shows one of the typical carvings of that era for comparison.

With the many pyramids, temples, statues and other remains on Mars that seem to indicate Egypt’s progenitors originating here, is it any wonder that “Cairo” means “Mars” in the ancient Coptic language?

Back to the statue. Taking a closer look we can see a face, a headdress, the ritual beard, the squared-off shoulders and the foot pedestal one would expect to find in a carving of this era. And all of is set off by ninety degree angles the masonry crew created to house the finished idol, all carved from the living rock.

Forget the statue. As soon as someone can explain to me how wind and sand can create all these perfect angles as well as present clear-cut examples of the same from Terran geology, that’s when I’ll concede it’s all just an accident of natural forces!

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“SO, HOW DO I VIEW X3D STEREO?”

For another, more detailed method of viewing X3D stereo, click HERE.

(Click for full-sized image)

"ENFOLDED" in X3D Stereo

Details: Category: Mars; Written by David Gannett; Hits: 684

“ENFOLDED” - in X3D Stereo

Curiosity Sol 2454 ML-B MastCam

Link:http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/216598/snapshots/620294

As detailed in Will Farrar’s excellent video (see below this post), Neville Thompson’s beautiful gigapan of Curiosity sol 2454 has a scattering of compelling anomalies. Likewise, I felt compelled to invest the time in extracting the 3D data for your consideration.

Our context view reveals a rugged, bouldered plain stretching into the distance. Down in the lower left corner, a rectangular shape invites a closer look.

Zooming in, our detail view shows a strangely-enfolded artifact. Its shape, the ninety-degree angles and the overall presentation shout “Artificial!”. The two items behind it likewise demonstrate possibilities of having been manufactured but are more ambivalent, their features a bit too blurred and shadowed to positively assign artificiality.

What was/is this strange item? A baffle to stabilize liquids? Something like a cooling device for a machine? A broken container of some kind? Absent on-site examination, we are only left to speculate.

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“SO, HOW DO I VIEW X3D STEREO?”

For another, more detailed method of viewing X3D stereo, click HERE.

(Click for full-sized image)