Re: Mars update
I ran across this little intersting piec of work during my travels tonight
Was the "Eye" Designed to Reflect Sunlight?
1. Artistic Significance of "Eye" Feature
The presence of a humanoid "eye" on the Face on Mars invites comparison to terrestrial sculpture. The inclusion of a structured "eyeball" in a piece of megascale sculpture is not a trivial artistic element. I propose that the Face is no exception, and that close study might reveal significance dulled by millennia of erosion.
The anomalous rectangular cells surrounding the western "eye" may be more than an exposed structural mesh or tresswork, as hypothesized elsewhere. Their orientation suggests a decorative intent. If the Face's western side had been sand-blasted for a long period of time, as posited by geologist Ron Nicks, one might expect to see similar "celled" features elsewhere on the Face's exposed surfaces. Instead, the cells appear only around the "eye," suggesting that their placement may transcend mere architecture.
2. Conspicuous Morphology
I've described the "eye's" "iris" feature as a "faceted cone," an observation confimed by Chris Joseph's shape-from-shading perspective view (below).
Correpondingly, colleague Kurt Jonach has illustrated the concept with the following image. While not a strict forensic description of the "eye," the illustration features an almond-shaped perimeter with a pyramidal object emerging from the center -- precisely what we see on the western side of the Face.
Joseph and Jonach's renderings depict the "iris"/"pupil" emerging from its ellipsoidal basin. Interestingly, the curved array of conspicuous cells lining the "eye's" underside (on the area perhaps corresponding to a "cheekbone") seem centered on the protruding faceted cone, as if united in some long-lost aesthetic function.
The radial array of empty cells surrounding the "eye" can be seen in this image from Jan., 2001. The faceted peak corresponding to an "iris" or "pupil" may have functioned as a "light collector." (See image of solar power station below.)
3. "It's All Done with Mirrors"
Could the empty cells forming the curved grid below the "eye" have once housed mirrors designed to capture sunlight and cast it on the elevated "iris"? This notion is consistent with an archaeological interpretation of the Face and offers a visually pleasing solution to the cells' conspicuous placement. Moreover, it might even be testable, given correct elevation data and a willingness to "reconstruct" the proposed mirror-system (either digitally or through classical sculpture).
Perhaps the Face once literally "glowered" at the Martian night, confirming the hypothesis that it was meant to be viewed from above -- either by "Cydonians" or "us" . . . or both.
A solar power plant. Note strategic radial placement of individual mirrors, identical to that of the cells beneath the "eye" on the Mars Face. The central "collecting tower" corresponds to the pyramidal "pupil" feature inside the "eye."
It should be noted that modern solar energy plants use the same distinct radial method of "harvesting" and focusing sunlight as proposed above -- albeit for industrial purposes. Then again, could the Martian "eye" have served both as a brilliant "ornament" as well as a power generating station of some kind? If the Face was once an arcology housing remnants of a civilization beneath a faltering ecosphere, a solar generator of this sort would be useful in supplying cheap, plentiful energy.
A proposed observatory composed of individual cells functioning in unison.
At the same time, the illuminated "eye" would be fulfilling a metaphoric function, chanelling light into the Face just as a real eye allows light to pass through the pupil to be decoded into images by the brain.
The Enterprise Mission's Mike Bara writes, in part: "Around the eye socket are a set of very regular, geometric shapes that can only be described as a sort of honeycomb cellular structure on the Face itself. Now it just so happens that this very anomalous and decidedly artificial pattern is exactly what Enterprise principal investigator Richard C. Hoagland predicted [...] we would find on the Face when we eventually got a good enough look: that the face was NOT just a 'Mt. Rushmore-type' recarving of an ancient Martian mesa, but a three-dimensional architectural, 'high-tech' construct. That, with high enough resolution, it would begin to reveal precisely those necessary (though now badly eroded) architectural details..."
Maybe the light-reflecting theory provides the raison d'etre for Bara and Hoagland's "high-tech" interpretation of the radial cells.
7-5-01
Possible Hexagon Near "Eye"
Chris Joseph has outlined a hexagon near the center of the "disk" identified on the
previous page. This is a potentially significant find, given the predominance of
hexagonal formations on the Martian surface. Additionally, Mark Kelly and Chris Joseph have detected two more hexagons in Cydonia, both north of the Face.
If the apparant hexagons are "real," could they be remnants of technological structures such as phased array telescopes or solar power stations? Or could the newly discovered hexagon on the Face be a decorative element, similar to a bas relief?
The radial cells described in the previous article suggest a functional interpretation for the western "eye." (Rather than a single anomolous "bump," the "eye" seems to be a virtual complex of complementary anomalies.) The "disk" above the "eye" features a fine-scale chaotic texture not seen elsewhere on the Face's western half, suggesting now-vanished design elements. It's possible that the hexagon and radial cells served similar functions, if we are in fact looking at the remains of an "observatory" or power station of some kind. Only future images and exploration can resolve this matter.
Erosion has taken an extreme toll on the Face formation. But there remain peculiarities worthy of methodical study. Interestingly, these peculiarities seem interrelated: an indication of conscious design as opposed to blind natural forces.
7-8-01
New Poll Suggests High Acceptance of Artificiality in Cydonia
220 visitors to The Cydonian Imperative website recently took part in an interesting, if unscientific, survey. When asked, "Given the available evidence, do you think there are artificial features in Cydonia?"
41% responded "Absolutely."
17% responded "Almost certainly."
17% responded "Probably."
15% responded "Maybe."
6% responded "Probably not."
4% responded "Absolutely not."
7-14-01
Large Geometric Grid Found on Mars
Keith Laney has discovered a large geometric grid on Mars that resembles the foundation of a terrestrial city. The regularity of the lines is remarkable and suggests intelligent design. Could this be a geological phenomenon? If so, it appears to be the first of its kind.
These unusual rectilinear cells discovered by Richard Hoagland are reminiscent of Laney's Grid, although they appear much less uniform.
Writes Lan Fleming:
"The aspect ratio for the grid image was 1.6. Keith sent me the section of the raw image I had requested, and when I stretched it in the vertical direction by 160%, the grid lines cross at angles of almost exactly 90 degrees in some areas, +/- a few degrees. Although the lines do curve gradually from left to right over the length of the image, the 90 degree relationship seems to hold over most of the area. Also, the small light objects within the grid appear very blocky.
"I thought at first this was due to overenlargement, but I don't think so [now]. I've increased the height [...] by a factor of only 1.28 while decreasing the width by a factor of .8, so the 1.6 aspect ratio still holds without enlarging so much vertically, and it _still_ looks blocky. It looks especially blocky where the grid lines are most closely aligned to the image axes, so there is probably some reinforcing interference from the pixel grid. But there is definitely a pattern there and the objects within the grid cells seem to be part of it."
7-15-01
Peculiar "Crater" Next to "Grid" Resembles Cydonia Feature
This unusual feature appears near the "Grid" featured above. Note the offshooting "ramp." The overall morphology is quite similar to that of the apparent dome discovered by Chris Joseph near the "Eras Mounds" and "Cydoniahenge" in Cydonia (see below).
Shape-from-shading rendering of the "Grid Crater."
The Cydonia "dome" discovered by Chris Joseph. Note semicircular "platform" inside caldera and offshooting ramp-like feature.
In addition to locating the conspicuous circular feature shown above, Chris Joseph has demonstrated that the numerous intersecting lines comprising the Grid are
raised, not cracks or depressions, as would be expected from stress-induced geological processes.
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