I too am skeptical, although I'd love it to be something significant.

Have you tried running this past some archeology / forums? Don't mention it's from mars.. just say.."is this a fossil? If so, what is it?". see what feedback you get. (don't actually mislead them or say you found it.. that's really bad karma in the information society.:dn

Or you could make call to your local city museum. Most have a fossil chap and if you let them know you're coming and why they would be more than happy to look at some photos. Stuff like this is what museum curators live for! they'll also be able to show you lots of known fossils to compare it with.

The odds are against it being significant... but if ALL the above people think it's a real fossil..then it could be something.

If you do any of this I'd love to here what people say.

There was an old book called Pan Spermia, which posthulated that the seeds of life are basically distributed throughout the universe univofrmly, much like the other elements we see. The authors theorize that life is fairly common in the universe, or at least the compunds essential to life are, and we can expect to find life in any environment that can support it.

If, and that is a big IF, this image is the fossil of a trilobite, then we have to rethink the distribution processes of life in our solar system, if not for the rest of our universe. One of the most profound things we have discovered by astronomy is that things are basically the same everywhere.

If trilobites were on mars, and earth, then they somehow travelled from one place to the other, then how can we explain this?

SPECULATION FOLLOWS: Really big impacts might have blasted trilobites into space, where they were frozen and preserved. Perhaps this is how we can explain the common forms of marine life between Mars. Did they come from Earth, and fall onto Mars, or come from Mars, and fall onto the earth? Perhaps life was developming simultaneously on both worlds, and impacts caused bits and pieces of plants and animals to jump between the worlds. If dust and rocks can make it here, so can other bits of matter.

What a wonder if the true history of life involves the crossed evolutionary paths of martian and terrran life forms. Just look at a trilobite. It is a totally alien form. They are extremely robust, compact, like aquatic roaches. Who knows?

The real truth in the matter is that life is everywhere, water is everywhere, and the conditions for life in the universe are common and widespread. We won't really know until the planet finder missions are launched, which will have the capability of finding extrasolar planets in the mass ranges of habitable worlds.

Perhaps the concept of God and a crreator can be addressed here too, in a kind of Arthur C. Clarke kind of way. Perhaps the form of life that we have on earth, the original forms of it, came from a common, extraterrestrial source. Perhaps this is a more romantic thought, but if there was commonality between the the life on mars and earth then something brought it there.

If the principal of equilibrium holds true for life bearing compounds as well, then life probably is similar no matter where it is found, be it here or around Tau Ceti, Alpha Centauri, or any other star with planets bearing water.

Water seems to be the key here, marine organisms seem to be the most basic forms of life, they can exist anywhere there is water and nutirents to feed them.

Mars was once a water world. This has been established. It is not a great leap of speculation to imagine those oceans filled with all forms of life, simple forms perhaps, but analogous to earth's own development. Since we have found that life will exist whereever it can, and the conditions on mars were favorable to simple lifeforms. It is silly to imagine a world of warm oceans to be completely sterile.

What we really need is a manned expedition to mars. We need to get some human eyes up there and find out for ourselves. It is perhaps the most profound line of inquiry our race has pursued: These dsicoveries will lead to ultimate understanding of the distribution of life itself, and will teach us about our origns.

Still think that space program is expensive and useless? Want another big mac? Here ya go. And don't step on that roach that crawled out of the wrapper, it might be a martian!



Arkaleus

That was already done by the gentleman who brought these fossils to everyone's attention. Everyone who he showed these to without mentioning where they were taken said they could see the outline of the fossil.

When he mentioned they came from mars, they weren't so sure. It is a statement of human psychology, more than scientific inquiry.

There really is something there. It's just common sense. Rocks don't get broken apart by the wind into shapes like this. There is no process in the universe than can ingrave this form into stone from wind and dust erosion. It is a clearly regular form, it looks like a freaking trilobite!

Just admit it, we are looking at a fossil, there is no other rational explanation. If you can think of one, then tell me. Otherwise, celebrate in the discovery.

Ark

You guys are brutal lol. That is clearly a fossil. What are all you guys going to say when NASA and other organizations come out and tell you yes they are fossils, yes there is evidence of life and maybe even intelligent life. All you guys saying "look at this pic of garble, you can see anything" and other statements like that is totall moronic nonsense.

It's also pretty sad that you need these goverment agencies to tell you what it is before you use your head. But thats the world we live in today. Puppet masters and their puppets (90% of the public) which includes many people here whom refuse to use their head and common sense because you never saw it on CNN.

[edit on 16-6-2004 by d1k]

its a #ing rock whats the big deal anyways?

What am I missing that you are seeing in that image, The Borg?

I am going to make a prediction, and it is going to come true!

NASA will announce the possibilty that these images are indeed what we have said them to be: Fossils!

It is plainly clear to anyone with a sharp eye for discering patterns.

What a major discovery!

Ark

I'm kind of new to this site, however I'm a trained geologist and this picture dies by no means represent a Trilobite, the raised rib marks which you see are simply jointing patterns, and I have seen numerous outcrops of rock which have structures that look exactly like this photo. Without a high resolution photo, more close up nothing can be said for definite, but I believe that what is being seen is simply a human brain matching an object to what it is seeing. Start looking at static on a tv for a while an you will eventually start to see pattern, or at least think you are. This is the same kind of thing

P.S, Archealogists do not deal with fossils, they are only concerned with recent events. Its geologists and more specific paleontologists.

Once again, folks that ACTUALLY hunt fossils on Earth realize that an interesting shape in a rock does not make a fossil! Geologists are very familiar with look-alike mineral inclusions and such that can be extermely convincing, but it is the same as finding faces in the clouds. No palentologist would claim that this poor pic is a fossil trilobite. There are tons of examples of similar rocks on Earth that "look like" fossils, but are not.

Listen to the Geologists, it is the smart thing to do. Not one trained geologist will claim that this is a fossil. This dude's website shows how much he knows about physical science!

GriBiT, you seemed to have totally missed my point. On this mans website he has drawn an overlay of the basic morphology of a trilobite. The point I was making with the static off a tv, is that if you look at it, despite it being a random collection of pixels, you will start to see shapes appearing. This is what the brain does naturally i.e tries to form objects that are not actually their, and this is what I think has happened on this supposed "trilobite". If you really want me to I can draw a hundred more other things over the picture which the thing could be. I have to agree with the comments of Herm, Geologists know what they are looking at and I can assure you that this is not a trilobite, I've done a hell of a lot of fieldwork and it is common to see features which almost appear fossil like in nature, but are not. NASA has some of the best geologists in the world, and their is no reason to believe that they have "missed" this and please don't start going on about this "cover up" nonsence. I am not trying to walk in here an go, "i'm the big geologist, listen to me" but you have to realise that on this occasion this is not a trilobite. For a geologist thie picture represents nothing sepecial. Herm seems to have got the point exactly, and if your going for bad comparisons, then why have you put up the earthly picture of a trilobite instead of the real picture? Just let this thing lie, ok believe what you will but do not try and make something big out of something that isn't.

We may find out for sure. The rock analysis might indicate what's it's made or of how it's formed. I think it's not impossible that a rock made it's way from earth after a blast, or, if we were to find evidence of life on mars, something like a trilobyte might be feasible. ( the rock could be a billion years old and blow up from under the mars surface by a meteor.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.... despite the odds.