Thread: Researchers 'think' they see remains of structures on Mars

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Duo: Life existed on Mars

Two Shore researchers think they see remains of structures on Red Planet


11:18 PM, Nov. 28, 2011



HOWELL — A group of researchers, including a planetary researcher from Howell and an image analyst formerly from Jackson, claim that there are constructs on Mars that cannot be explained as the result of natural forces.

Referring in particular to one parrot-shaped geoglyph that is the focus of their studies, James Miller of Howell said, “Yes, it could be partially natural, but it had to be worked. There would have to be six different geological events happening within a mile by a half-mile area for this thing to have happened naturally.”


Not so fast, said a professor with a specialty in planetary science.

“Everything I see in those images can be explained by natural processes, primarily wind erosion of layered materials. Indeed, it is very easy for the eye to see what look like familiar forms in unfamiliar settings, and I'm sure that's what's happening here,” said Steven W. Squyres, an astronomy professor at Cornell University, who has been an investigator on many Martian science robotic probe programs.

Squyres added, “Carl Sagan once said ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’ A hill on Mars that looks like a parrot to an imaginative eye does not in my opinion constitute extraordinary evidence.”


Miller, a member of the Cydonia Institute, and Haas, formerly of Jackson and founder of the Purcellville, Va.-based organization, are calling for a “serious review” of what they see as a growing archive of anomalous formations in the shape of geoglyphs found on the surface of the red planet. They discussed their findings Nov. 11 at the Howell Barnes and Noble bookstore.


Geoglyphs are large designs found on the ground forming shapes or patterns. Perhaps the most well-known geoglyph are the Nazca Lines in Peru. Viewed from the ground, they appear to be a series of lines. Viewed from the air, those lines take on the appearance of birds, a monkey, and other animals.


The Martian parrot, found along the northwest rim of the Argyre Basin, mimics Mesoamerican art, Haas said. In the Mayan culture, there is a myth about the Hero Twins — the sun and the moon — confronting the principal bird deity named Seven Macaw, who not only had a legion of followers on Earth, but wanted to become the sun.


Wind erosion, my 3-cheeked ass!