Upon the Plains of Cydonia

Take a gander at this great Mars pic and tell me what you see...


Shot at 2007-03-13

There's the Pharoah's head, a skull to the left of it and WHAT is staring down at the skull?

(or is it only me and my astronomer buddy who see something else?)

[edit on 24/4/08 by masqua]

I see a ..... a lion. I'm not good at these things though. I've tried and tried to do this on the moon pics but usually something has to be pointed out.

I can really see it on the smaller version of the picture.

What do you see?

That's what I see too... a huge lion's head glaring down at the skull.

It's easier to see as a thumbnail, but the big pic is good too (after a while).

I was so impressed with it that I started a painting of the landscape.

Cool!

Took me a second.
Just to make sure though. You're talking about almost half of the photo right?

Upper left, looking down and to the right.
It was the comment about the thumbnail that finally allowed my eyes to see it.
You're gonna have fun with that landscape.
A little artistic license, I hope?

Yep, I see a lion......is the golden color natural, or was it added to hi-light the area?? ( right down to the whiskers and a toothie!)

Originally posted by masqua
(or is it only me and my astronomer buddy who see something else?)

I'm not seeing it, unless you mean "like seeing faces in clouds." Then I see the 'face on Mars' plateau and a vaguely skull-shaped plateau (shape due mostly to the position of the shadows) and a huge cartoon cat-ish face.

Or did you mean something else?

[edit on 13-3-2007 by Byrd]

Yup, Byrd, that's why I posted this in the Space Exploration forum.

I'm a particuilar fan of perceiving structure out of obfuscation... it's the artist in me, I'm afraid... so, no, I don't believe martians carved a massive lions head out of the bedrock.

Frayed1... I believe those are the natural colours, but not certain. Here's the APOD pic.

Of course I'll be using artistic license... it wouldn't be any fun if I didn't.

[edit on 13/3/07 by masqua]

You'll notice I use green and yellow to 'shape' the landscape and then started using blue and white to 'finish' them. After that's all done I'll cover the whole thing red glazing.

Amazingly cat-like head, though. The only thing that bothers me is the -sideways tooth

Anyone else see the 'alien profile' to the right of the cats eye?



[edit on 13/3/07 by masqua]

Damn dude

Thats a very nice painting, your use of color is really entrancing.

Top marks my man

masqua that is awsome! Do you think there is a niche for this type of painting? Maybe some rich conspiracy theorists can commission you! Ooo I know! Ill be working within 12 months (hopefully sooner) and you can paint me one and Ill pay ya!

As the pictures which Hubble and the various probes to the other planets become entrenched into the minds of humanity, I think that there will be a growing demand for those kinds of artworks which explore possible scenes.

Using a bit of imagination can add to the beauty of any particular view or even attempt to tweak a landscape into recognizable features so that it is more easily remembered.

I think that's human nature... searching the bumps and hollows of cave walls for the shapes of animals comes to mind. Should the exploration of space and the solar system be handled any differently when it is looked at subjectively? IMO, to only look at the environs of other worlds or deep space objectively holds us back from speculation and the feeling of wonder which is so large a part of my personal experience.

With so much having been discovered recently, there is new respect being given to the work Science Fiction artists have been doing for the past 50 years.

spaceart.org...
www.novaspace.com...

This new type of work is just in its infancy, but will grow as the imaginations of artists become inspired by the beauty of gas/dust clouds, star formations, the swirling scene around a black hole or the fantastic surfaces of moons and planets create alien colours or forms.

My amateur astronomer friend, who spends a great deal of time in his observatory and is the most scientifically minded person I know, is also learning how to paint such scenes. It's his way of trying to make sense of what otherworldly conditions could look like.

Originally posted by Byrd
I'm not seeing it, unless you mean "like seeing faces in clouds."

That's not what he means...

Then I see the 'face on Mars' plateau and a vaguely skull-shaped plateau (shape due mostly to the position of the shadows) and a huge cartoon cat-ish face.

Or did you mean something else?

I presume he meant 'stuff' like this...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

www.msss.com...

And for your information the evidence about the 1976 face has just gotten stronger and at this stage i wonder how it can be denied. .

That being said i didn't see anything in the picture we are currently discussing.

Stellar
Stellar

[edit on 17-3-2007 by StellarX]

Heya masqua, thats not quite what I meant. Space art has been going a long time true, BUT what about all the shapes and bunnies on Mars, the faces and tie fighters? Whether there are structures on Moon or Mars, people are seeing so many things, its art babeh!

I would love to see the Mars Bunny in painting but its really quite a boring picture though.

This is cool!

Love the jaquar, Dae.

The exploration of other worlds/moons is going to make for an exciting time for all of us, but it is also going to be rife with the same methods for recognition that all explorers use.

We look on the surface of Mars and we see a shattered landscape scoured and shaped by blowing dust much like the mesas and rock formations we see in the American southwest. When the first Hopi explorers came out of the underworld, I would bet they did the same thing as Europeans would do millenia later... they looked around them and noted the shape of the natural landscape and said things like; "Look, here the mountain is shaped like a sleeping giant!" and in that way registered their landmarks so that they knew where they were in relation to other places they'd noted before.

The exploration of space will be no diferent. We began it all by marking the stars by seeing in them a lion, or fish, a hunter or even a woman pouring water from a pitcher.

Some human habits never die and stay on to become part of the scientific method. We are feeling our way by searching for guideposts.
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grammar

[edit on 17/3/07 by masqua]

i see it now, it looks really kwl

Frayed1... I believe those are the natural colours, but not certain. Here's the APOD pic.

Of course I'll be using artistic license... it wouldn't be any fun if I didn't.

Ah the source LOL ignore the U2U

It is extremely interesting that the lion is in the Cydonia region...

I too do not believe anone carved these giant images, but I like your point about the "artist in you" Is it possible that some of these things we see truly require a creative mind? Or are all artist types just crazy?

This may be something to explore in another thread. I have noticed the same tendency in woodsmen.... by that I mean people who are extremely observant about their surrounding... things like spotting tracks where no one else can see anything, or that tiny colorful mushroom just under that leaf...

I wonder if there are any studies about these powers of observation that seem to elude the majority of people...

Food for thought...

Great image... The detail is amazing just like the other face on Mars....


To Byrd...

Focus on the white not the black to find the lion

BTW my opinion on the original face is its much more interesting to realize we are looking at a HUGE island in what was once a deep sea... you can see the old shoreline and the rays of sediment in the new high resolution image

Here's a recent thumbnail of the painting

Out of curiousity, how many similar earthly places have you personally visited which are famous for a natural landmark? I can think of a few offhand and will add them here as I find links online.

Am I the only one here who cannot see the Lion? I see the classic face on Mars and the skull, but for the life of me, the Lion is invisible.

When I lived in Montana, I was an obsessive fisherman for over 20 years. On the rocky shores of rivers like the Yellowstone, Boulder and Gallatin rivers, I saw hundreds of weirdly eroded rocks that looked like skulls, tools, bones etc. Such odd effects are quite common, especially when you're exposed to an extensive array of specimens repeatedly over years.

Considering that those illusions manifest close up and in person, it's no surprise to me that people take note of the same effects when looking at fuzzy photos while having to contend with light and shadow deception.

Now the trees, that's what I'd like to see NASA reimage. Just my 2 cents--carry on.

Whoops! Wrong thread, I meant to post here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Sorry.

[edit on 20-5-2007 by yuefo]

Originally posted by groingrinder
Am I the only one here who cannot see the Lion? I see the classic face on Mars and the skull, but for the life of me, the Lion is invisible.

Maybe this will help you?