What Do You See?

What do you see in this image from Mars? A spaceship? Some sort of structure? Or, possibly a natural formation of some sort?

Mysterious object spotted on Mars

What is this mysterious object spotted on Mars?

Without too much of a stretch of the imagination I think one could be convinced that this is an image of an alien spacecraft.  But, if you haven’t already peeked at the image below, take a look now to see the image above in the context of its actual surroundings.

Sand dunes on the Martian surface - Image courtesy of NASA

These amazingly fluid structures are formed by wind and sand and are known as barchan dunes. They are not unique to Mars but can also be found on Earth as seen below. Here is another amazing photo of barchan dunes taken by George Steinmetz/National Geographic Society. It’s difficult to look at this image and not feel an alien origin to the shapes we see emerging from the sea of sand.

Barchan dunes in the Arabian Peninsula - Image by George Steinmetz / National Geographic Society

Aside from the stark beauty of these images, I wanted to point out how easy it is to manipulate an image to show something or give the reader an impression of something that doesn’t really exist. Without seeing the context from which the “alien spaceship” was taken, it is difficult to assess the authenticity of the image.

The morale: Don’t believe everything you see and hear.  Always keep an open mind with a bit of skepticism, ask questions and investigate!
Till next time,
RC Davison

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