Something growing on Mars

Those do not look like shadows to me, they almost seem like streaks or smudges. The fact that this picture shows an isolated phenomenon, proves something new and different is going on there. I can not accept the sites "explanation" of this, but I do like many other posters explanations. And I do not think they are shadows from a sand dune. If it were that simple, then they would have posted that on the HIRISE site, instead of trying to explain it as defrosting of a dark sand dune....

One way or another it is very interesting. It could shed light on active geological processes on Mars, which is exciting! Or it could shed light on possible life on Mars, also exciting! Can't wait for this follow up image they will take in the summer!

Hey guys.Just joined because of this post.What if these spots are magnetic?Maybe over time material that is metallic is blown over this area and builds up.Just a thought.The shapes remind me of when you take a magnet to a pile of iron filings,though on a larger scale.

Originally posted by zorgon

Arthur C. Clarke Stands By His Belief in Life on Mars
www.space.com...

[edit on 6-3-2009 by zorgon]

Yes, that is what Clarke said in 2001 (not the movie, the year), after seeing images from the Global Surveyor.

As he also suggested, closer-in imaging did decide the matter:
Here is a progressive zoom of the "trees" (from PSP_003443_0980, in 2007). Clarke was wrong, they are geological features. Have at it with your crayons.



[edit on 3/6/2009 by Phage]

After some enhancements I found that some of those dark spots have a small crater or mound at what looks like the source of the dark material.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a0489e7eb49d.png[/atsimg]

It's normal that they take more photos latter, they have been doing that on other areas with similar features, like the famous "Inca city".


I forgot to say that I don't think these are dunes, they spread over an area that has lower and higher places, and it does not look affected by the different situations.

[edit on 6/3/2009 by ArMaP]

who even knows mars exisits? whos been there? whos seen anything other than pictures, videos etc given by the government we all know do nothing but lie

reply to post by ArMaP


Interesting
The bigger, middle one - looks like a volcano.

Originally posted by RFBurns
Could be some form of fungus algie. Temps at the surface during the Martian summers can reach up to 75* F in and around the equator areas.

Please provide proof of that statement, that's the first time I have heard a temp like that.

Originally posted by Phage

Since he made the statement in 2001, based on the Global Surveyor images it's not surprising. People were puzzled and he was a great science fiction writer.

You mean Sir Arthur Charles Clarke

Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941-1946, proposed satellite communication systems in 1945[4][5] which won him the Franklin Institute Stuart Ballantine Gold Medal in 1963. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1994.[6] He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947-1950 and again in 1953.[7] Later, he helped fight for the preservation of lowland gorillas.[8][9] He won the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1961.[10]

As much as I long to believe that Mars is capable of harbouring life - indeed, life has been found thriving in the absolutely most inhospitable places here on Eath - I'm still not 100% convinced that what we're seeing in these photos is anything more than an exotic geological formation of some sort.

Deep down, I fully believe that life is thriving to this day on Mars. Perhaps not particularily advanced life, although animals adapt.

There's probably a higher probability that Mars was once a very living planet, but most if not all life has been done away with by either solar radiation or some other calamity.

While I have to admit that I'm still not convinced of life on Mars, I'd be absolutely delighted to find out conclusively that it exists.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Yes. That's the one I meant.

What is your point? That I only used his last name (the way your quote did)? Or that I didn't provide a list of his accomplishments (the way zorgon didn't)?

Or maybe you're implying that he couldn't have been wrong.

I have a question for all of you? How can any of you presume to know anything about Mars, without having actually been there? You see pictures. Who's to say that Nasa isn't showing you a line of bull? There really can't be any definitive unless you experience it first hand. And everyone seems to be under the misconception that life has to adhere to a position that we've determined through our "advanced" physics models. Yet daily, we discover new life on our own planet that lives outside of that box. Who are we to determine anything, when we cannot even determine ourselves a way to survive as a species in unity. I mean, here we are, living on a habitable planet, and the highlights of our lives are money, power, greed, arguing, the internet, television, and killing each other. So who are we to determine anything with definite, when we are so uncertain about ourselves to begin with.
I hear alot of people on here wishing that aliens would contact us, or that disclosure would happen. Why would they want anything to do with us? We are systematically destroying our planet. We are a hostile and vile species. We kill things we do not understand, or that scare us. We overreact to everything that comes into our lives. If I were an alien, I would not want to interact with us either. If I were an alien, I'd probably play things out much like Klatuu was going to on The Day the Earth Stood Still. Our Earth is far more precious than we are, and we take it for granted, slowly killing it, all in the name of fulfilling a temporary desire.

Sorry for the rant, but humanity's closed mind is a majority of our specie's problem.

reply to post by Oreyeon


If you accept nothing unless you see it and/or touch it you are going to have to have an extremely wide range of experience or a very narrow knowledge base.

[edit on 3/6/2009 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


It just seemed with the tone that it was presented that he was nothing more than a Sci Fi writer with an active imagination.

All you people claiming the "trees" are geological formations are making me sad. I want to believe they are giant, mutant LICHENS!

Can survive extreme temperatures? Yes.
Wiki Lichens

Can survive dry conditions? Yes.
Growth and Development in Lichens

Wow that is an awsome picture. I can't wait for the next time they check it. I wonder how close any of the rovers are to this area. That would be a great find. Great

reply to post by spaznational


I'm not jumping to any conclusions I just don't jump on to "It's a rock" band wagon right off the bat!

Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by spaznational

 

I'm not jumping to any conclusions I just don't jump on to "It's a rock" band wagon right off the bat!

My post should have been more directed at these "trees on Mars" people. Something as complex as a tree requires an even more complex ecosystem to evolve in. Trees don't just occur in an ecological vacuum. There may well be bacterial life on Mars but it doesn't just jump an evolutionary gap from bacteria to tree.

I just happened to reply to your post because you immediately mocked everyone who would take the rational first guess of geological formation...

"It's a rock!
no wait swamp gas!
No Venus! "

BTW, when I say "rock" it is a short term for "a geological formation of some kind." Could be caused by wind, venting gasses, crystals, etc.

Originally posted by Oreyeon
I have a question for all of you? How can any of you presume to know anything about Mars, without having actually been there?

I have never been to Antarctica and seen the Polar Bears.... nor have I been to the Arctic circle to see the Penguins... but I know they are there...

I have never been to Australia to see Kangaroos and what the heck is a Platypus ? But I know they are real...

Originally posted by RFBurns
Could be some form of fungus algie. Temps at the surface during the Martian summers can reach up to 75* F in and around the equator areas. And with Odyssey's discovery of Mars having large masses of frozen water under the surface and MGS's discovery of "seeps" during the warm seasons, it is "logical" and "rational" to see some sort of growth going on.

Yes the debunkers are pouring out their bags-o-scuses for this one..as they always do.

Cheers!!!!

I don't think most people debunk stuff just because they enjoy putting anyone's ideas down. Sometimes I think folks just don't want to jump to conclusions. That's how I am anyway. To me, it does look like it could be some form of biological process taking place. But it could also be warmer areas of dark sand, or rock formations.

Just my two bits though. Peace!

reply to post by ArMaP


That looks a lot like a volcanic cinder cone (which have been observed elsewhere on Mars). You say "some". Is that closer to "many" or "a few"?

To my eye the enhancements you did make the dark areas appear even more as surface material without the frost cover which is on the surrounding area. It doesn't appear to be material overlaying the frost. I guess it is sort of a zebra question (black on white, or white on black) but that's how it looks to me.


[edit on 3/6/2009 by Phage]