Mars’ freaky photos have puzzled UFO and science fiction enthusiasts for decades.
Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, once wrote a letter to Corey S. Powell, editor-at-large of Discover Magazine, requesting an investigation into the forests on Mars spotted by NASA’s orbiter, Surveyor.
Forests on Mars would certainly be a mind- blowing discovery for a legendary science fiction writer such as Clarke, well, for any science fiction writer.
It could mean all kinds of things such as life on Mars. Like maybe Martians do exist. Like maybe little green men from outer space have visited Earth, abducted some of us, studied us, and drew crop circles — stuff X-Files believers have been saying for decades.
Mars’ Photos
While surfing the web at various sites dedicated to alien encounters, I found there is no shortage of freaky photos from Mars. For those who study these images, numerous strange objects have been noted like rats, rabbits, and lizards.
Photos sent back from NASA’s rover, Curiosity (2012) on Mars reveal strange images. This looks like a rat some say. (Photo credit: taken from the UFO Sightings Daily.)
Mars and alien enthusiasts spotted a woman’s image in these rocky photographs. Could this be a woman? She was discovered in photos sent back by the Mars’ rover? (Photo credit: taken from UFO Sightings Daily.)
No Cover Ups
Though Clark died in 2008, Powell continued to investigate the odd images from Mars, but doesn’t believe scientists are hiding the discovery of life on the planet. (June 2014 issue of Discover.) He indicates that he bases this on a statement made by Jim Bell, a lead researcher running the Curiosity Rover’s color camera.
“My colleagues and I, we would be at the front of the parade if we discovered a dinosaur bone or a tiny lizard on Mars,” Bell said. “It would be the most spectacular discovery in the history of science. Why the hell would we cover it up?”
Blame
The odd visuals are blamed on Mars’ weather: wind, absence of rainfall, and extreme temperatures.
“Often the rover driving past is the most interesting thing that’s happened there in the past two billon years,” Bell said.
For example, fine bits of windblown dust cause the erosion on the Red Planet.
“The dust grains are microns in diameter, cigarette-smoke size. Imagine blowing smoke at a rock; nothing is really going to happen. But blow smoke at a rock for a billion years? Dust and sand grains can carve canyons out of mountains,” said Bell.
Rover’s View
I explored the images on the NASA website taken of Mars’ surface and there is no end to the weirdness in these photographs.
Freaky Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2006) took these images of dark swirls made by Martian winds on sand dunes.
According to NASA, the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the most powerful one of its kind ever sent to another planet. Its high resolution allows NASA to see Mars like never before, and helps other missions choose a safe spot to land for future exploration.
Dune Fields
Dune fields on Mars appear to be flying in formation. (Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona Caption: Alfred McEwen)
Moreover, NASA says dune fields are affected by sand supply, wind speed, and topography. (Very uniform pattern for something so random as wind speed.)
Mars’ Spiders
NASA says the gases escaping from underground are said to have carved these spider-like images. (Or are they actually the front doors to Martian homes?)
Craters?
According to NASA, this impact crater on Mars appears recent. (Photo credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Caption: Alfred McEwen) The Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft discovered the above crater.
Scientists believe the crater formed on Mars in the past 20 plus Earth years. Scientists have used the crater and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars.
Unusual Depression
HiRise captured the above image of a circular depression on the surface of Mars on January 5, 2015.
The Ghost Forests on Mars
The ghost forests of Mars are what Clarke asked Discover Magazine to investigate. It really does look like images of forests and is said to be sprouting in a south pole-like region of Mars. Temperatures there fall below -200°F. I found several different explanations as to what these formations actually are.
- Darker, cascading sands create the illusion of trees. (Discover magazine June 2014 issue: “Weirdlands of Mars.”)
- Indeed growths, though lifeless ones, much like those mineral spires that sprout around the edges of mineral-rich lakes. On Mars, the growths are probably frozen carbon dioxide. (Science Frontiers)
- A spectrometer on the Global Surveyor indicates the fernlike forms are composed of dry ice. When winter sets in on Mars’ south pole, carbon dioxide — which makes up 95 percent of the atmosphere — freezes onto the surface.
“Something causes a small pathway, tortuous or straight, through the ice,” says Hugh Kieffer, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona.
He believes tiny grains of dust, heated by the summer Martian sun, vaporize the surrounding ice and slowly burrow their way downward. When the grains reach the soil below, they create vents.
“Once you have a hole established from top to bottom, gas can get out,” Kieffer says.
Carbon dioxide converging under the ice toward those holes could move fast enough to erode the soil and produce spider-like channels around the vents, creating the illusion of an alien garden.
(Discover Magazine November 2001)
Update to Come
My interest in alien life forms has always been a top priority on my blog list. This interest resurfaced with the recent increase in UFO sightings and the ex-intelligence officer who blew the whistle on possible UFO coverups.
Furthermore, the Government renamed UFOs. They now refer to them as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena/UAP. Why the change?
By definition, unidentified anomalous phenomena are just that — unidentified. But generally the term refers to objects spotted by pilots or detected by sensors that cannot be immediately explained.
Whistleblower
Recently an ex Air Force intelligence officer, David Grusch, reported his UFO/UAP experiences to the House Oversight Committee. He told them he had knowledge of:
a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program
His job included examining classified programs but officials denied access to them. Later, after talking to pilots who had direct encounters with UFO aircraft, he learned the crafts had nonhuman origins and nonhuman biologics.
The Update
Currently there are three rovers on Mars. Those operating are: Curiosity rover, Perseverance rover, and Tianwen-1.
In an upcoming blog, I will review more recent photos and information. Additionally, we’ll discuss the coverup if, indeed, there is one.
Probing
One must admit—especially those of us prone to science fiction explanations—the photos conjure up some fantastical illusions of what could be.
I visualize giant spider-like creatures emerging from their underground homes on Mars to mount their V shaped sand-crafts and check out the progress of NASA’s rovers.
What are your thoughts? Are the explanations for these phenomenal images we are given, real? Is the truth out there and will we be told?
- Urban Legend in the Making - April 22, 2024
- Coghlan’s Traveling Coffin Urban Legend - April 4, 2024
- Richmond Vampire Urban Legend - March 7, 2024
9 replies on “Mars’ Freaky Photos”
These landscapes are so eerily beautiful. Wow, aliens or not, we cannot deny the magic of the universe. Thank you for sharing.
I know! Such magic and beauty is hard to grasp or comprehend, perhaps our reason for alien hunting. Someone to thank for all the marvels of the universe.
Thank you, Rockwell, for stopping by and commenting.
I wonder if the aliens look at Earth and marvel at its beauty. Our buildings, our forests and our mountains could equally be foreign and unusual. The sad thing is we often only see the destruction (self-imposed) via pollution etc, but there are still so many marvels to be grateful for.
Then again, maybe we should be thanking the Aliens for the beauty here on earth.
Beautifully said, Rockwell. Earth IS equally as marvelous.
Great analysis and thoughts, and the imagery is fantastic as can be expected. I find the very last image of the “forests” to be equally puzzling and interesting. The surface is seemingly smooth which hints at either constant high winds keeping the surface smooth, or possibly even some type of liquid that flow over the surface to keep it seemingly smooth. The winds could be a real-world probability though. A recent meteor strike!! WoW!!! Thanks for such interesting material always!! HUGs
Hugs to you too, Tony. I hoped you’d see the photos. I really appreciate your visiting and commenting. Many of the images sent back from Mars cause one’s imagination to go into hyper drive and ask: “WTFrack is that?”
It’s so interesting to see these strange photos. Sure does make us wonder and imagine all sorts of reasons for them. 🙂
Hey Barbara, these photos sure make my mind go into overdrive. Thank you for the compliment and comment. And for visiting.—Clara
You’re welcome! You always present fascinating subjects. 🙂