Mars/MRO: The Hellas Planitia "Airstrip" Anomaly

Sandcastler
Looks like large scale glacial striation to me. Marks can be very symmetrical and box like. Here are some examples on earth.

static.panoramio.com...
rhsastronomyblog.wikispaces.com...

Whether you are right or wrong - no-one, really knows.
What convinced you that the examples given are large scale glacial striation?
Did you prove this to your own satisfaction, or accept someone-else's take on it?
I ask, primarily, because I am not convinced the first example is a result of said influence.
The second example/photo does not allow for close enough inspection, to give an assessment (on my part)

reply to post by 0bserver1


Its pretty strange that most people read the OP as if he thinks that those markings are airstrips?
Its pretty counter productive to keep returning to those assumptions.
Who has ever constructed square airstrips/fields with only 1 km runway its not even close to simular.
If i would describe it with earth analogs it would be ruins or earthworks. the right angels and distribution dont
look like glacier activity to me, but nature works in mysterious ways!

reply to post by jeep3r


Interesting... As you know nature doesn't provide us with straight lines?
Fascinating.

The only question is , are they truly straight..They shots are taken at extreme distance.. so
i wonder how straight the lines are up close.

reply to post by rigel4


Nature does create straight lines such as the grain in wood, the stratification of rock, as has been pointed out glacial scraping as a glacier drag's boulders along and of course sedimentary rocks such as slate but these image's appear like non of these known phenomenon and do look artefact like, they are not in line with one another or a common natural cause could be used as an explanation, instead they are at different orientation's and of approximately the same size though there surface features are at variance they share a large number of straight line's, right angle's and the top one show's patterning line foundations or road's, the bottom one in the roughly triangular area to it's left and lower down show's a number or very feint square and oblong areas outside the marking which are (in that one more like a section of canal with a deeper channel in the centre) between the feature and the bluff or over deposit to it's left that has eroded down and partially covered this triangular area.

WanDash

Sandcastler
Looks like large scale glacial striation to me. Marks can be very symmetrical and box like. Here are some examples on earth.

static.panoramio.com...
rhsastronomyblog.wikispaces.com...

Whether you are right or wrong - no-one, really knows.
What convinced you that the examples given are large scale glacial striation?
Did you prove this to your own satisfaction, or accept someone-else's take on it?
I ask, primarily, because I am not convinced the first example is a result of said influence.
The second example/photo does not allow for close enough inspection, to give an assessment (on my part)

I'm not saying that's what it is, just what it looks like to me. I have a background in geology, so that's what it reminded me of at first glance. Could be something entirely different though. Look at feature #2. Just to the east and northeast there are similar, larger areas of lines going the exact same direction, just fainter in color. Makes me think something was acting on that general region as a whole.

Sandcastler
...I'm not saying that's what it is, just what it looks like to me. I have a background in geology, so that's what it reminded me of at first glance. Could be something entirely different though. Look at feature #2. Just to the east and northeast there are similar, larger areas of lines going the exact same direction, just fainter in color. Makes me think something was acting on that general region as a whole.

Thanks for the response.
I have some experience in geology, as well. Worked with two (at separate times) geologists who were considered "the best"... They each esteemed the other worthy of the title "second best"...and both gave very different answers, when faced with the same rocks/scenarios.
It remains a guessing game, in my opinion.
It seems to me there are many more "features" in the base pic referenced in the OP that spell - "extreme coincidence" or "might want to look a little deeper".
Again - my opinion.
Thanks for yours.

I think you missed one (whatever it may be) in the lower right corner.

reply to post by ArMaP


Beat me to it!!! Glad someone else saw it too!!!

zatara
reply to post by jeep3r

 

Here at ATS I first got confronted with all the weird "manmade" structures on Mars and over the years I got 110 % convinced that there must have been an intelligence responsible for creating those 'unnatural' structures.

I got so very convinced that I am not longer a believer but a....( whats that word again?). As matter of fact I got so rationaly convinced that I consider every non-believer uninformed, ignorant or plain stupid if that person has been as much informed as I am. Yes I know..those are dangerous words. There is Always the unlikely possibillity I am wrong and become a self confessed idiot.

edit on 17/2/2014 by zatara because: (no reason given)

Your right VERY DANGEROUS words especially when only half the picture is painted!!!!

First 5mtr per pixel data you cant make accurate measurements with those images next NO ELEVATION data because your first so called airstrip seems to be on a slope!!!!

OVERACTIVE imaginations are more dangerous and there are plenty on these threads.

Sandcastler

 

I'm not saying that's what it is, just what it looks like to me. I have a background in geology, so that's what it reminded me of at first glance. Could be something entirely different though. Look at feature #2. Just to the east and northeast there are similar, larger areas of lines going the exact same direction, just fainter in color. Makes me think something was acting on that general region as a whole.

Thanks for your opinion on this, Sandcastler. I've been following the discussion between you and WanDash and think it's good to also consider potential 'natural' causes for these formations.

As far as glaciers are concerned, perhaps they might indeed have been the culprits in the remote past. IMO that's difficult to tell, though, without further geological expertise. Perhaps we can find some more earthly examples of landscapes that show similar patterns, could be a trail worth following up on.

I'll certainly also take some time to see what I can find, although I'm still completely undecided as to what could have caused these 3 seemingly 'similar' formations. The patterns, notably those of the first example, are a bit disturbing ...

ArMaP

It doesn't look near Puma Punku, the whole geology looks different, it looks more like the Middle East.

As for the first image, that's indeed located close to Puma Punku (checked it on GE), whereas I have no idea what kind of structure that is, nor when it might have been built. However, it's just 1/5th the length (~200m) of the first example in this OP (see second image above) ...

As for the last image, you are probably right: looks more like the Middle East or Turkey, hopefully someone on here will be able to identify that particular ancient site.

reply to post by jeep3r


It looks like scrape mining technic to me. Automated machines set down and scrape up materials. Absolutely no proof for this theory but I have seen it discussed before.

For me, it makes more sense than any other hypothesis. Course i believe in ET and the ancient alien theory lol.

The Bot

reply to post by jeep3r

Thanks for considering the conversation.
As you say - all possibilities should be considered.
The crux of the matter, in my opinion, is "coincidences".
One oddity will generally elicit an "...awe - look at that - wow, Amazing what nature can do..."
One more 'oddity' (much less, in close proximity) - should, at least, cause an eyebrow to twitch.
If there are two - maybe a full raise to the brow...
But - when you see many such "disturbances" to the landscape...in said close proximity - it's generally time to put some effort into determining the cause/s (which, of course, you are doing brilliantly).
And, imo, there are many oddities in this landscape.

reply to post by dlbott

It would seem that there are many evidences that tend to support your theory.

reply to post by dlbott


I also tend to agree that your idea has great merit, if mineral probe expedition was searching for something like deuterium or even perhaps a rare element left over from the meteor and asteroid bombardment it would be likely that in a potentially promising area they may have performed a number of sample excavation's and there are at least three here, indeed it is a very good hypothesis, of course this opens up even more possible avenues of thought such as whom, when and are they still somewhere in the solar system and have they left other such traces elsewhere on mars and the solar system.

reply to post by jeep3r


I was talking about the last image, sorry for not making it clear.

Could you point to where in the CTX photo is the area showing those 3 or four "stripped" areas? Thanks in advance.

jeep3r

Sandcastler

 

I'm not saying that's what it is, just what it looks like to me. I have a background in geology, so that's what it reminded me of at first glance. Could be something entirely different though. Look at feature #2. Just to the east and northeast there are similar, larger areas of lines going the exact same direction, just fainter in color. Makes me think something was acting on that general region as a whole.

Thanks for your opinion on this, Sandcastler. I've been following the discussion between you and WanDash and think it's good to also consider potential 'natural' causes for these formations.

As far as glaciers are concerned, perhaps they might indeed have been the culprits in the remote past. IMO that's difficult to tell, though, without further geological expertise. Perhaps we can find some more earthly examples of landscapes that show similar patterns, could be a trail worth following up on.

I'll certainly also take some time to see what I can find, although I'm still completely undecided as to what could have caused these 3 seemingly 'similar' formations. The patterns, notably those of the first example, are a bit disturbing ...

Checking a couple wikis about the Mars region where this is located (Hellas Planitia), both mention glacial activity. This area is the lowest elevation on Mars and would be a likely spot for water to pool, freeze, and move. Here is a quote:

Early in the planet's history, it is believed that a giant lake existed in the Hellas Basin. Possible shorelines have been discovered.[3] Glacial features (terminal moraines, drumlins, and eskers) have been found that may have been formed when the water froze.

en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...

ArMaP
reply to post by jeep3r

 

I was talking about the last image, sorry for not making it clear.

Could you point to where in the CTX photo is the area showing those 3 or four "stripped" areas? Thanks in advance.

No problem, ArMaP ... on the CTX image below, I highlighted the 3 formations using yellow dots. That's roughly where those "strips" are located:


Hope this helps ...

reply to post by dlbott

I agree.

On Earth, there are similar shapes shown on Google maps at the bottom of the sea. I know no-one thinks much of JP Skipper's site, but he has done a couple of his reports on these features found in quite a few seabed places. He speculates that they are strip mining and aliens have huge machines to do this. If you had unlimited power, there is no reason why a machine should not be any size, particularly as there is little or no atmosphere and gravity is different on other planets or the effect is different under water.

The similarity is striking between these and the Earth undersea ones, except the Earth undersea ones go on for miles and miles.

Are there just the latest images from mars that are weird? i mean these photos to me look like the inside od a building with thew roof blown off or something, and the right angles of the diffrent compartments? i mean dam along with the ammo box photos and the cydonia complex, why the fudge arnt we sending manned missions over there right the fudge now, get some eyeballs on these pleaces, but where to go first, i vote cydonia.

Obviously there's a ton we dont know about the surface of Mars as yet and there's a lot of very interesting pics coming from Curiosity (the "Pharoah head" particularly), however some people are just lost in cloud la-la land with their speculation. This thread for example, someone speculating that it could be ancient alien mining. I would suggest checking closer to home with possible ideas as to what this marking on the surface could be, magnetic striping possibly? Certainly more feasible than alien mining (and no, I'm not a skeptic, I fully believe alien life will be discovered soon).