Martian mystery solved?

mikem — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:30:57 GMT

Nah, I think they're shrubs.

Martian mystery solved?

Rick D. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 01:05:52 GMT

I think that this confirms the fact that there is no life on the Martian surface. If any exists it is probably microbial and exists in a strata below the planet's surface. I also think that if we were to find life (either as we know it or foreign in origin) it will be outside our planetary system (9 or 12 planets, as you wish).

Simply said: "There ain't no life nowhere but here".

Martian mystery solved?

RUListening — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 01:39:24 GMT

I was wondering where the tax money went for landscaping. Now I know, NASA spent it on "Trees for Mars" program.

Martian mystery solved?

James — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 01:40:08 GMT

No way. Those are Martian Figs !

Martian mystery solved?

beartracts — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:07:37 GMT

Good science has great effects.

Martian mystery solved?

Kurt, St. Francis, MN — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:41:37 GMT

Does this indicate that there's a prevailing wind pattern in that area of Mars? If so, it would be interesting to know how strong and could future explorers harness it.

Martian mystery solved?

Clint — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:41:54 GMT

Where does the dark color come from in that case? Last I checked the sand there was red. Also, these features appear to have height. Unless we caught them in the act, which is unlikely, I think these folks are searching. How about sending one of those rovers? Seems like they could have been there by now.

Martian mystery solved?

Dubya, Texas — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:48:48 GMT

thats oil! no wonder bush wants us to go there!

Martian mystery solved?

tony — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:03:27 GMT

The trees are likely caused by the pressure melting Co2 and sand underneath the ground. Big deal! NASA needs to spend most of their money on methods to build a self-sustaining for human space craft that can house scientists, engineers with their familys for centuries at a time while traveling in outerspace. Since that is how long it will take to get to the nearest solar system that has potential life. Besides Earth, we as a civilization will never find sentient life in our solar system. The need to go outside it is our true destiny for exploration. Their is more life in my toilet than there is on most of the 11 other planets in our solar system. Just don't need to spend billions of dollars to confirm that.

Martian mystery solved?

James Evans — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:03:47 GMT

What a wonderful time we live in as our hungering minds search the heavens for the very answers that keep us moving forward, understanding and thirsty for truths in this vast universe we live, eager to touch new worlds and travel end-lessly, leaving our minds to wonder and question...questioning is our right to do as we are born of them.....69

Martian mystery solved?

Clarence Maine, Olivehurst California — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:06:58 GMT

Simply said: "There ain't no life nowhere but here... wow, thats pretty narrow minded and arrougant thinking.. In a universe thats 18.5 billion light years across and we are the only living thing... I dont think so... as for the martian trees, my bet is that they are pine trees..

Martian mystery solved?

J Smith — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:48:29 GMT

Who cares? Martian trees won an historic strategic victory over Israel. That's all that counts. Allahu Akbar!

Martian mystery solved?

Joseph Roganite — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:52:38 GMT

There goes the value of my Martian real estate.

Martian mystery solved?

David Thompson — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 04:06:27 GMT

The real truth about Mars is about to be published by Sense Of Wonder Press...October this year. COMMONALITY (a new Science Fiction tale) explains their history.

Martian mystery solved?

Steve Konopelski,Reading,pa — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 04:21:54 GMT

Everyone is missing the obvious. George W. has his oil companies up there & they are drilling for oil. Soon look for the Martian pipe-line

Martian mystery solved?

Vin — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 04:51:16 GMT

I wish they were trees - or atleast some kind of life form. If there is, then theres the knowledge that we are not alone ! Maybe that will eventually stop all the wars we have here in the name of religion (bah - God - the sick solace of a civilized ! race thats unable to be civilized - the animals have it better !)

Martian mystery solved?

Chad — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 05:30:30 GMT

Yes they are geological. They are the geo thermal vents for the Martian society deep under the surface of the planet. This occurs at scheduled intervals. Once enough pressure has built up this occurrs. I believe this can be proven with a longer study of the area to show just how regularly this happens. Andwhen we are able to get probes deeper into the planet's surface The height of the blast shows the masssive build up of pressure.

Martian mystery solved?

Bryan, San Bernardino, Ca. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 05:50:18 GMT

I think that our solar system is teeming with life.
It may be microbial and it may be far different than
on Earth, but the more we know the more the chances
are increasing for life else where INCLUDING inside
our planetary system. It's too early to tell based
on what NASA releases to the public, but look at the
methane signatures and where we keep finding life
on this planet. There's water everywhere, there is
certain to be life on our neighbors as well.

Martian mystery solved?

mike ro — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 05:54:05 GMT

Doesn't anyone seem to think that the ice isnt a frozen past, but a frozen future? Let me explain; When God's day comes he will judge all of us, those who stay and those that don't. Those that don't are just no more, no hell no forever torture, God is not an evil being, he stands for love and mercy, why would he do such a thing as to put someone in a fiery hell or a place where they are forever being tortured, Hello! Anyway Those who stay are resurected to a life on earth, how can you be resurected if you are in heaven already when you die? As the Catholics and others would have you believe. Anyway, those resurected to earth will multiply and at some point the earth will be crowded, so wouldnt it make sense that God prepare another planet for us to use? When he is ready the ice will melt and become rivers and oceans and lakes just like earth. Mars and other planets are being created for us, but all in Gods time, not mans.

Martian mystery solved?

John Doe — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 06:18:28 GMT

That's not Mars that's the Great Salt Lake in the springtime

Martian mystery solved?

Zion Rowan, San Jose, CA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 06:23:57 GMT

The God stuff scared me in the comment section, I like the Oil Idea, Go George, get that oil, at least we're only killing Martian Trees.

Martian mystery solved?

Mark G. ,Monroe,LA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 06:55:39 GMT

I think someone should go check it out and let us know???

Martian mystery solved?

micah, legalize-it tx — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 07:50:08 GMT

You cannot blast NASA for taking the time and effort and money (it is what makes the world go around by the way) to give us an answer on what the hell those fissures where, so they are dark sand orgasms...awsome, but weren't most useful discoveries fueled by our curiosity and intrigue, and yes maybe even passion of discovery? Just the anxiety to know what? Oh and to the guy that wants us to send a family with there scientist father into uncharted, deepsea space exploration? I wanna know whats in my backyard before i look over the fence into my neighbors. baby-steps.

Martian mystery solved?

Robin Herne, Pittsburgh, Pa. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:04:33 GMT

How is it possible for NASA to find life on Mars, when they can't even find the moon landing videos in their own archives here on Earth. Speaking of..where are the pictures from the other side of the moon anyways?

Martian mystery solved?

Joe Elkins Mooreland IN. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:11:52 GMT

It's a great theory, and until we get on mars or
more advanced methods of research become available,
it will remain a theory. That's my theory. :)

Martian mystery solved?

Andrew, UK — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:37:42 GMT

It's another elaborate stunt by the martians, they know we're watching them - they are responsible for crop circles afterall.

Martian mystery solved?

Richard. L. Chapman, Lima, NY — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:39:15 GMT

NASA doesn't always succeed at everything, but no one is going to beat them when it comes to spreading bull (except politicians of course). I've seen so many plants and artifacts in the photos I can't even count them. What a vivd imagination NASA has!

Martian mystery solved?

gary berliner — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:05:21 GMT

There IS life on Mars. It is US.

Martian mystery solved?

marlon, florida — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:33:30 GMT

It's my blast furnace, stolen by the Martians last week! They put it underneath the soil and now they're having majestic geological effects!

Martian mystery solved?

mark martin ft. collins co. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:39:06 GMT

Well, this observed periodic (seasonal) effect described and photos was intriging enough to induce me read the letter submitted to Nature 442, 793-796(17 August 2006) by Hugh H. Kieffer, Philip R. Christensen3 and Timothy N. Titus. Attributing what appears to be subsurface expulsions of sub surface resident material to CO2 expansion past a sublimated crust is as good a guess as any at this point. The suggestion that there is a darker ground material related to this process suggests to me that there may be some volcanic (basaltic) like process involved. A lot of heat and a lot of cold, good place for life don’t you think?

Martian mystery solved?

cwjr — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:14:18 GMT

god has nothing to do with mars...he only created earth remember? if we were to ever go to mars, god ain't gonna watch our backs.

Martian mystery solved?

Wraith Houston Texas — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:17:16 GMT

Is it me or does NASA researchers are trying REALLY hard to say "There is NO possible way there is life on Mars." ???

Martian mystery solved?

Hugh W — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:54:16 GMT

That thars oil in them thar hills!!! Call W & Haliburton. We'll all be rich. Now they need to find the Martians to screw over and that makes for a great day. Mayhaps sell them those defective "bullet proof" vests.

Martian mystery solved?

aaron goldsmith — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:56:26 GMT

whatever the objects are, it is doubtful that a human in this generation or the next will physically touch them.the islamic terrorists have got us spending so much money we cannot afford to go to mars with astronauts. i remember as a child looking up at the moon in wonder on a warm july evening in 1969 thinking what a wonderful universe we would be exploring in my lifetime. not to be the case, though. hizballah,al queda, ahmedinejad...they managed to wipe away the small progress some nasa engineers and robert goddard made in my youth.

Martian mystery solved?

Mike Hutchinson East Stroudsburg, PA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:14:48 GMT

who brought God into all of this? And the afterlife? kinda narrow minded to think we're all headed back here. And i think the "ain't no life" person was speaking for here in the solar system, or at least i hope he was. we're talking about trees, or shrubs, or gysers. I like the latter; most of the explanations for that make sense. But if they are trees, who'll be the first to decorate one for Christmas?

Martian mystery solved?

Ms. Nowhere — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:23:59 GMT

I believe if there is life somewhere out there, then it will be in a black hole or somewhere like that. Not saying that there isnt life but I want proof before I believe anything. The alien in Signs sure was scary though.lol.

Martian mystery solved?

J.C.Matlock, Marble Falls,tx — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:49:56 GMT

We should name it Redstone National Park,Like Yellowstone!
"Honey load the kid's up where off to the Park"

Martian mystery solved?

Kevin O, Topeka, KS — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:03:26 GMT

It just reminds me that Mars is a cold, alien world. If terraformed, it'd be the same as living in twilight in the high Andes.

Worse, the gravity is insufficient to hold the atmosphere for more than a few 100's of thousands of years. The planet is geologically dead, so the biosphere would have to maintain the atmosphere. That leaves out our own selection of plants and animals. We'd have to engineer everything; including our own children.

My dog would hate it.

With no areological activity, everything will simply erode in the more active atmosphere we'll have to introduce. In addition, everything, and I mean everything, we mine from our earth has been processed for our use by biological systems. It'll be a hardscrabble existence with an enormous share of the planetary gross economy devoted to merely maintaining the habitability.

If you think that sounds inviting, I've got some land in Western Kansas I'll sell you for a winter resort.

Martian mystery solved?

Mike Tethrake Milford Indiana — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:04:49 GMT

Too many wild theories,not enough proof.Could be sand fountains,could be rock formations (or trees).Most of what we learn about space is based on asumptions of one or two people,not based on real logical science.Space science needs more scientists and less dreamers.

Martian mystery solved?

Sam Monroe, LA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:11:42 GMT

Much of what I have read here shows me that there are alot of narrowmindedness in the world, especially in our country. I guess it is true when scientists say that we only use a small portion of our brain. Some of us use alot less than others!!

Martian mystery solved?

Wade Whitlock, Aberdeen, MD — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:41:43 GMT

Reminisent of sand blows in alluvial material from a decent sized earthquake! Check out aerial photos from the Charleston, SC and New Madrid, MI earthquake areas. They will be white on dark.

I checked out the Star Trek site and down-loaded a wonderfully apropo desktop. "Logic - It's not as prevalent as you would wish!" OY VEY! So true! I suppose there may still be some faint hope if they are reading Cosmic Log!

So, Astronomy is finally developing a logical definition besides the "wanderer"! Joy. A science center spokeswoman from Baltimore said something to the effect that Nature makes planets we just describe and name them. Yup. So now we get to tote up the plutoids in the KBOs and OC. Really, how hard was this? Round because of sufficient gravity, orbiting a star, not a star and not orbiting a planet. Now all we need are easy classifications like "S" for Silica, "G" for gas or giant if you prefer and "I" for Ice. That should about cover it. Bigger than G and you have a brown dwarf, smaller than gravitationally rounded and you have an asteriod or a KBO or OCO.

Heard someone claim Pluto as their astrological planet! Right!

Martian mystery solved?

Unnamed, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:16:14 GMT

I'm not sure if the definition of "universe" is well defined yet, considering what is going on in Prague with the "planet" issue, but I have always assumed it ment the whole "thing"...meaning infinite. People seem comfortable with a beginning and end and age, but since I was very young I could never picture this. If you could travel at speeds much greater than light and do it for billions of years, I believe you would never see an end...there may be points where there are no galaxies for billions of light years, but eventually, you would find more. To find out we need to start with our own solar system. Our moon is a great launching site because it is the easiest to get to and relatively close and Mars is next with its similarities to earth. Considering all but gravity, if you can make it work on our moon , it should work even better on Mars. As we build out, we will peer farther out to our infinite universe. Other beings likely are doing this as well and our best chances of meeting are somewhere in the middle. If we don't deal with a mass extinction event in the next 10,000 or so years, we will need to find other places to live. This planet can only take so much. Baby steps will get us there!

Martian mystery solved?

Allen Willyard, Longmont, Colorado — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:21:00 GMT

A very interesting article. Although this exact phenomena doesn't occur on Earth, Old Faithful (and other geysers) demonstrate the basic principle rather well. As for the "spider" patterns produced- didn't David Bowie once have a song about "Spiders from Mars?"

Martian mystery solved?

Lowry E. Davidson, Montego Bay ,Jamaica — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:25:23 GMT

I belive the current scientific asessment reflects the desire of our scientists and politicians to assure the public they are: a. In charge and b.Know what to expect from the universe around us the "trees" are probably indeed a sort of simple lifeform similar Fungi similar size fungal colonies do grow on earth.

Martian mystery solved?

Rickf — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:49:53 GMT

Maybe we should leave it alone whatever it is, lest it become another Iraq.

Martian mystery solved?

Teal McMillan, San Jose, CA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:53:55 GMT

Intelligent ideas wanted here and not would be comedians comments. Trying to be funny and not succeeding.

Martian mystery solved?

Bob Tankersley — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:10:14 GMT

Perhaps we should be more aware that we are not alone in the vastness of the universe.
We keep sending our radio signals out into space hoping to get some type of reply.
Doesn’t it occur to anyone that we may not like the response. We are doing a reasonably
good job of killing each other here on earth, why should we wave a red flag at any thing
out there and disclose our cover. “They” could be more accomplished warfare that we
could imagine. Let’ keep our heads down and stop looking for trouble!

Martian mystery solved?

Carlos, Miami, Florida — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:10:21 GMT

Hey, It looks like a bunch of dark colored Martians staring up at our funny looking probe.

Martian mystery solved?

WW, Etchersville, MO — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:12:03 GMT

I think they just found where they get all that Etch-a-Sketch stuff.

Martian mystery solved?

CJP, Salt Lake City, Utah — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:38:41 GMT

lets send a nuke to mars to try kickstarting its eco system.

Martian mystery solved?

Pokerpalooza, Phoenix, AZ — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:03:20 GMT

I heard there are weapons of mass destruction on Mars. Maybe we need to spread democracy there too.

Martian mystery solved?

Patrick McFadden — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:08:56 GMT

We have had similar sand geysers here in the US. In the early 1800’s a major earthquake hit a sparsely populated region near the Mississippi River and modern day Memphis. The quake produced enough energy to send sand spewing into the air like a geyser. It is very conceivable that sand geysers can be produced no matter what planetary system given the right conditions.

Martian mystery solved?

David C, midwest city, OK — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:12:28 GMT

Leave it to mankinds luck to actually get a photograph just at that moment, such an interesting phenomenon. I've always wondered why it is that man has always thought there to be life on mars, even in this high tech world, we're still searching for life on a barren planet. Now, lets say we do find intelligent life and are able to communicate with them, theoretically. Wouldent we either try to exploit them for technologies/amneties, or convert them to our various religions? Obviously people have a way to happy picture as to what we'd probably do.

Martian mystery solved?

jimbob. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:18:02 GMT

those are tripods, getting ready to invade earth. Only Tom Cruise can stop them! Were doomed!.

Martian mystery solved?

Len A, North Providence, RI — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:18:13 GMT

After reading some of the comments sent in, I suggest that NASA should look for intelligent life on earth!

Martian mystery solved?

Ms. K — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:19:14 GMT

Why do we assume that all life is three dimensional and visible to the human eye?

Martian mystery solved?

Steve Le Bigot, Calgary, Ab, Canada — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:35:10 GMT

Many of the comments refer to life in this solar system. Well, may be yes, may be not. That's for us to find out. We have the curiosity necessary to go and look. No life in this system, that's OK. But if there is no life in this galaxy of 100 billions stars with untold planetary systems, well, somebody or something is playing a bad joke on us. And that's not to mention the billions of galaxies that we will probably never reach.

Martian mystery solved?

Exploring — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:42:21 GMT

The sad truth regarding theoretical science is this history reflects mans mistakes regarding his interpretation of the mechanics of the universe and his surroundings. The upside is this history allows us to learn from our mistakes such as the world isn't flat, the sun doesn't revolve around the earth, life can thrive in boiling water and subzero temperatures. These were once all controversial topics, now they go undisputed due to empirical evidence. We are making unbelievable progress in technological advances daily. If these advances are measured on a scale reviewed in decades the progress is almost unbelievable when compared to our forefathers. The plain truth is this to make progress man has to make mistakes and learn from them there really is no other way. That is the purpose of explorers they know they are going into the unknown and may be the first to actually go in that direction so there can be mishaps but whatever the outcome they chose that descision with full consciousness of the possibility things could go wrong. Thats Discovery. Baby steps in the big picture piece together what Mankind refers to as Technological Advancement of Mankind. He is brave and strong when teamed with the right people it has proven he can accomplish some of the most incredible things possible, but when left alone with complacency and indifference and lack of support towards a desired goal he can become unreasonable rigid and difficult to work with. The best minds need nurturing and encouragement to get along. If we can't get along on this planet what makes people think we can populate another planet for the good of Mankind. It seems we can't even get along on this one so until we can live in peace on this planet I don't think we should be joyriding around the galaxy looking for new real estate. If we can take control of our own house maybe we can look for an upgrade. It just seems to me for lack of a better analogy, we seem like a wealthy teen who found the keys to his parents sports car we don't have a license and decided we want to take a ride with nobody in the car. Who cares if its wrong we just want to go because we can. I am not saying the voyage of our pursuit of the Universe is wrong all I'm saying is Mankind has a history of war and problems and we should be careful in our pursuit of new lands. Simple history of people going to new continents and declaring it home and eliminating the indigenous peoples through many methods is part of our history. We should remember the past to let it influence our future. Responsible descisions are best. I guess what I'm trying to say is we need to get our house in order before making a concerted effort to find another one. Hypothetical situation your in space and meet another sentient being and they meet you on a different planet with no knowledge of your origin at first glance. They ask you with a line of questioning that evolves into a language you eventually become to understand Where are you from? Your reply is planet earth. They understand you and ask why do we stay in a state of war? What would you reply? I don't know either but it seems if we were to go exploring the universe we wouldn't want to be interpretted as someone who constantly eliminates their own kind. It is interpretted as completely hostile. I think its better to have the ability to do it and not have to than to be known for it and not known for anything else. Bad first impressions are hard to break. Now this is inferring we aren't alone and I don't know if we are or not. But ponder this if we aren't then who is out there and what would they think of our policies of how we handle ourselves would it have a large effect on how we were greeted or not. Just a thought. Anyway I love exploration of space and am as anxious as the next guy to see it grow in leaps and bounds but just feel we need to be careful how we do it........

Martian mystery solved?

Laura, Wilmingtom, Delaware — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:47:11 GMT

Trees? Who cares? Where's the ocean front property?

Martian mystery solved?

Algolei — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:49:23 GMT

Looks like Martian hair plugs to me.

Martian mystery solved?

Nathan Morrison — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:00:07 GMT

Alan, this theory is the biggest bunch of crap I've ever heard, and I'm having trouble believing you printed it.

Christiansen starts out trying to explain the anomaly as an upwelling gas, then when the temperature is proved equal (removing his imagined catalyst for evaporation) he 'switches up' the theory to say, OH NO, it wasn't gas at all, just darker material on top of lighter material.

I'm not sure how Christiansen thinks this explains the 3Dimensional aspects of this 'dark material'.

I'm certainly not sure how he thinks he's explained the SHADOWS caused by these SOLID ABOVE GROUND OBJECTS.

Nor has he even attempted to 'explain away' the liquid water found on the surface of Mars by the Recon Orbiter at the same time Clarke discovered his macro banyans.

This guy is a joke, and not a funny one Alan. I'm not impressed.

Martian mystery solved?

Chris — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:03:51 GMT

Is this a sign of globel warming?

Martian mystery solved?

Al Davis, Oakland Ca. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:27:57 GMT

Mars is boring I'm off to Europa in the morning.

Martian mystery solved?

M November, Seattle, WA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:48:53 GMT

It's a little presumptive to entitle this "Martian Mystery Solved" - with or without the question mark. And it causes me to some degree to question the validity of your journalism as well as the science involved in this. Just as there's probably no real way to prove there is life on Mars from photos and speculation - it's equally difficult to prove there isn't... as can be seen from the comments above which range widely from humorous to well thought out to somewhat incredulous.

Here's a thought - head up your articles to reflect another "Theory" has been presented instead of inflecting that a "solution" to a mystery has been presented. I see nothing in this work that lends me to give it any more credence than the diatribes of Richard Hoagland. They're taking some facts and some conjecture - and making assumptions.

Better to put our dollars, time and effort to actually getting us there where we can prove or disprove the theories beyond speculations.

I applaud this vision presented in that - it's certainly something that needs to be given consideration as a possibility - and yes, it would be amazing (although somewhat dangerous I suspect) to witness.

Martian mystery solved?

Jim Prescott AZ — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:10:50 GMT

I think we might have finally found the Weapons of Mass Destruction!!

Martian mystery solved?

JRT Ft.Worth,TX — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:17:19 GMT

I think NASA should spend some time on genuine science instead of conducting a campaign to justify its own the existence and to encourage continued funding ! The writer of Flash Gordon comics was doing this well and without any help from a space agency. The artist rendering of the sand expulsion looks just like something that our hero Flash would have encountered on some alien planet, except for the color, which was then monochrome.

Martian mystery solved?

Rick - Yuma, AZ — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:50:01 GMT

Clearly there is more intelligence on Mars than betwween the ears of many of the comments seen here!

Martian mystery solved?

Joe, New York, New York — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:07:27 GMT

The Martians are messing with us! They keep sending us images that we can't decipher or look like something else to throw us off. They've probably been observing us for years and determined we are so messed up they don't want us to visit.

Martian mystery solved?

Charlie Horse Vermillion S.D. — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:30:16 GMT

Well, The sand-geyser idea strikes me as untrue. The dark spots are just too close together for this to be a credible solution. For one, it Takes a lot of pressure to blast through dry-ice. Secondly As evaporation occurs from the ice it would only evaporate from the upper layer unless there was an underlying heat source- but if there was an underlying heat source the dry-ice would not have been able to form.
If they had explained this as dust blown into craters in the ice, I would have found it more believable. However it just doesn't ring true under scrutiny.

Martian mystery solved?

Neil, Minneapolis — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:33:12 GMT

The conspiracy theorists and the ones who take themselves too seriously are funny. I agree with the first guy, Mikem. They're shrubs. Ones that look nice, in layers. Designed by Roger the Shrubber.

Martian mystery solved?

Fred Dungan Riverside, California — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:49:27 GMT

Why not go there and find out? Obviously there is a limit to what robots can do. Here it is 40 years after we put a man on the moon and we have yet to make it to Mars. Hubba hubba, let's get going. At this rate, the Klingons have us beat.

Martian mystery solved?

Jack, Los Angeles, CA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 20:02:46 GMT

This article is highly deceptive. The "banyan trees" Clark referred to aren't pictured here at all! Check the link below and see for yourself. Even skeptical space.com seems to think they're biological.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/
solarsystem/clarke_mars_banyon_010709-2.html

Martian mystery solved?

Al al habib — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 20:05:24 GMT

I think they are caused by dung beetles blowing dirt out the entrance to their homes. :) Or it could be more spider traps like Saddam Hussein had... Perhaps we should pre empt their attack and nuke them first. That's where all the WMD are...

Peace out - after reading several comments there are quite a few of you that really would do well to get a job to occupy your time.

Martian mystery solved?

Tim Payne, POrtland Oregon — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 20:25:26 GMT

Its quite obvious that these are the stumps of trees. Weyerhauser cut them down. Poor Martian owls.

Martian mystery solved?

Skip, Kiluea, Hawaii — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 20:51:37 GMT

Fascinating images to be sure! I am glad that our "space dollars" are providing us with such images and information. Perhaps we need to re-visit this "intelligent design" theory. (One only needs to look at the current occupant of the White House or the NASA engineers that determined that a piece of foam hitting the shuttle couldn't do any harm to it to know that this theory doesn't hold water or martian ice or sand.) Let's get some real space pioneers up there to bring back some of it so we'll know "Who shot John".

Martian mystery solved?

Neil Williamson, Denver, CO — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:18:15 GMT

Another example of "Intelligent Design"; just like our species. That said, I think the most "Intelligent Design" would be to put Dubya and his Administration on the next rocket to the planet to explore the place. Oh wait, that's way too much dead weight; the rocket would NEVER get off the ground.

Martian mystery solved?

Rob, Seattle WA — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:21:14 GMT

you mean they're "Bush'es"
(case solved, no intelligent life on Mars :D )

I vote for Martian Sand Lions, watch your step, they're BIG puppies!

Martian mystery solved?

Maryann, Phoenix, Az — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:40:45 GMT

Who are we to define something so mysterious as Life?

Martian mystery solved?

Squit, NYC, NY — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:47:28 GMT

None of the above.

Flocks of pigeons keep crapping on the camera lenses.

Pigeons are from Mars. They are here for our popcorn!

Martian mystery solved?

Peter Waitzman, Chicago, IL — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:56:45 GMT

I'm pretty convinced now that it's a society of extremely advanced, underground people systematically turning on a planetary sprinkler system periodically proving, once and for all, that Mars is indeed inhabited.

Martian mystery solved?

Allen Willyard, Longmont, Colorado, USA, Planet Earth — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:50:46 GMT

After reading the above messages, I'd like to just remind a few folks that the search for life on Mars or Titan or anywhere else in the solar system is not a search for intelligent life- that we know isn't there. (in other star systems, maybe so- will we ever know? I doubt it). But- if even the most rudimentary microbial life can be found elsewhere in this solar system, the implications are very profound. I strongly support our space program- it's a shame it has to be so political. Back in 1969, when we landed on the moon, I never would have believed it if someone then had told me 37 years later we would have not yet put a man on Mars.

Martian mystery solved?

Bermejo, Santa Fe, Missouri — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:53:59 GMT

The photos with this article don't even bear a remote resemblance to the features described by Arthur Clarke as "banyan trees". As a side note, I don't understand why the US scores so poorly in science education. It's obvious from several of the posts here that this is a popular site for 12 year olds!

Martian mystery solved?

Andrew — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:58:26 GMT

How do we spend billions of dollars to do this type of research only to end up with grainy B&W pictures? Someone needs to tells NASA to spend an extra few bucks on a color camera with a bigger lens.

Martian mystery solved?

Alan Boyle — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:47:02 GMT

I've linked to the "banyan tree" story on Space.com from the item. But if you're interested in the original imagery, you can check the MSSS site at:

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/
m07_m12/images/M08/M0804688.html

In this picture, you can see the forest *and* the trees:

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/
m07_m12/nonmaps/M08/M0804688.gif

As far as I can tell, the "shadows" seen here are more likely interpreted as wind tails of the dark underlying material (based on my reading of the sun azimuth, the seeming shadows aren't where they should be). Also, the branchlike structure seen in the higher-resolution GIF of the "banyan trees" tracks pretty well with the "spidery" appearance of the ice in the picture I've included in this item. It would make sense (to me) that this is dark material covering the underlying spider ice.

When I asked Christensen about Clarke's observation of the banyan-tree effect, he said, "I'm aware of the stuff that he was talking about." Might the trees be a manifestation of the dirt-geyser phenomenon? "They probably are, indeed," he said.

The more closely I look at the banyan-tree picture, the more similarities I see to the phenomena shown in the Nature paper. But who am I to argue with Arthur C. Clarke? Nobody, that's who. That's why I sent a message through Sir Arthur's associates to be forwarded to him early this week.

If I hear back from him, I'll definitely post an update.

P.S.: The camera aboard the Mars Global Surveyor is actually pretty good by 1997 standards. At the time, NASA said that some parts of Mars would be imaged in more detail than some parts of Earth. But technology doesn't stand still. I was just talking with the folks from MSSS, who said that they'll have a color imager aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (for the moon, which unfortunately isn't as colorful as Mars), as well as two other canted cameras.

Since the MGS images are in black and white, the "dark" material looks like a dark gray, but in reality it's probably a dark brick red. If you look at the "true-color" pictures on the Mars rover Web site (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov), you'll find that a lot of the soil on Mars is very, very dark.

Martian mystery solved?

David, Westminster, CO — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 05:24:53 GMT

If we are really interested in knowing the answers as to the origins of phenomena on Mars, all we have to do is create some prestigious society and offer a monetary incentive - then let the Rutan brothers in on the action and we'll have the answers in no time flat! Those guys have to be the most awesome thinkers in the US of A!

Martian mystery solved?

Boo Yah, Los Angeles — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:40:36 GMT

That is some serious in-grown facial hair. Hey Mars, try the new Schick Quattro.

Martian mystery solved?

Donny LLahma of Great Wisdom, Fontana, Ca. — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:57:31 GMT

Who "On Earth" cares about what the dickens is on or in (so called) Mars? I don't see any life on this Planet - or in it; maybe at the American Legion after a few beers. Ca'mon you self geniuses - these are ornaments made by God: he plays with them - the Universes are his Laboratory - The Master Scientist who creates new elements with a wave of his hand. Pay attention to your purpose as an Entity and follor the Commandments and stop trying to figure out Why or What; it will paralyse you; keep you from producing your 16 tons of number nine coal - and hope your soul is blessed; so you may dwell in the House of The Lord to watch His Creating Machines - Two Hands. Now get back to work and maybe pay off the mortgage for a house that the Governments owns - It lets you use it as long as you pay the Piper - Government. Research and photo that from a Satellite - print pictures of it; then say; Bless my soul; I loaded sixteen ton of No. Nine Coal. Many don't make it - they don't drink enough Budweiser - probably Puritans.

Martian mystery solved?

Steve Haack, Lincoln, NE — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:28:20 GMT

To the guy who thinks that the heating and evaporation would take place at the top: I think they are saying that the sun would shine through the transparent ice and heat would be trapped underneath with the overlying ice providing insulation. Kind of a mini-greenhouse effect. Bear in mind also that the Martian gravity is lower and the atmospheric pressure is VERY low. It would not take an enormous amount of pressure under the ice to project material quite a large distance. My question is: could this process be repeated over time long enough for the ejected material to accumulate to the point of casting a shadow?

Martian mystery solved?

Cindi, Macon, Ga. — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:39:43 GMT

Very interesting. But "Who cares?" Why r u guys looking for something that we have here? We are fighting for oil here, so why do you want star wars? We are tearing our own planet up (with life on it), so why go splitting the heavens apart for greed? You know that is what will happen if it seems to be anything that we can use here on earth. Just leave it alone, and there seems to be enough funds to share for cleaning up after the 9-11. Look, lets just use the funds to do what is neccessary here and leave the cosmic to itself to clean up for now. Transfere some to the money to another fund and get this planet cleaned up. Thanks.

Martian mystery solved?

Randy York PA — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:44:58 GMT

Liberals are hoping they are pot plants so they have something to smoke when they move there.

Martian mystery solved?

Greg Ryder, Springfield — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:22:46 GMT

Whrn I try to slake my martian thirst for the info on this site, I am thwarted by overprinting and large blacked out areas that cover the left third of the page almost everywhere, from top to bottom. This seems not a good design scientificly.It is very irritating and disappointing. What can be done? I am very interested in these subjects.

Martian mystery solved?

Greg Ryder, Springfield, MA — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:38:50 GMT

Hell for spammers and viral hackers is on Mars.
Those are the vents.

Martian mystery solved?

Yahweh's own — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:42:08 GMT

The smartest one on this site is Mike Ro...I see that he truly has let his intelligence SHINE! Stay strong my brother, they shall find out soon enough!, soon enough! Shalom!

Martian mystery solved?

clem from PA — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:49:51 GMT

Mike Ro, you don't think that God is an evil being. then explain the hell he inflicts on us upon earth. Why do little children suffer and die from horrible diseases? Why does he inflict natural disasters upon us? And you sure as hell better hope he builds the next world better than the half-assed job he did on this one. Hurricanes, tornados, volcanos, earthquakes,etc. What a mean being! Or maybe he isn't the sharpest being in the universe. Or maybe...........!

Martian mystery solved?

Unnamed, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:52:14 GMT

I think we should check with Kevin Bacon...it seems that is where they filmed "Tremors"...

Martian mystery solved?

kerry algonquin il — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:10:07 GMT

Lets spend the billions to feed clothe and shelter the poeople here and save our earth thru responsible living, Instead of finding a new place to inhabit and destroy all over again.

Martian mystery solved?

Patrick922j5 — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:23:21 GMT

Silly...It's the "respiration system" from the society of little green men that live beneath the Martian Face. Aliens gotta breathe too ya know...

Martian mystery solved?

Ward Twining, West Branch, MI — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:26:59 GMT

My tax money would be better spent on deeper "mysteries". Black holes swallow virtually everything. Quasars puke more stuff than we can explain. Could a quasar be the back side of another universe's black hole?

Martian mystery solved?

LF, Houston — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:36:39 GMT

Regarding image M0804688.gif, you wrote:

"As far as I can tell, the "shadows" seen here are more likely interpreted as wind tails of the dark underlying material (based on my reading of the sun azimuth, the seeming shadows aren't where they should be)."

See the ancillary data at:

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/
m07_m12/images/M08/M0804688.html

According to this page, the sun azimuth is 53.3 degrees. Azimuth angles on MOC images are measured clockwise from the right edge of the image, so the sun is coming from the lower right corner of the image and the dark streaks and dark borders of the "trees" line up pretty well with what might be expected for objects casting shadows. Of course, that could be a coincidence. A picture of the same region with a different sun azimuth would probably be necessary to say for certain whether these are wind streaks or shadows. Color photos would be interesting, too.

Martian mystery solved?

Alan Boyle — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:37:07 GMT

I admit the azimuth is rather close, but if you take a 54-degree angle (being generous) and superimpose it over the "shadows," you should find that the "shadows" (or streaks) point upward a few degrees to the right of the 54-degree mark. That's why I have to say it's only my reading of the azimuth ... there may be something I'm missing. The smaller shadows/streaks look a lot like other wind streaks, and the larger trees blend together in the lower part of the frame to look a lot like the spidery terrain seen in post-thaw pictures. But I totally agree that it's worth looking at additional imagery to nail down what's going on.

Martian mystery solved?

Kathleen Barbosa — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:06:40 GMT

A little known historical episode: "In 1492, Christopher Columbus stepped onto a beach in Spain, looked out upon the Atlantic Ocean, a vast expanse of seeming nothingness, and remarked: 'There ain't no life nowhere but here.'"

Martian mystery solved?

HS, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:36:01 GMT

First time around, we were given the explanation "the sand underneath the frost is dark." Note the declarative statement. This is science voicing a fact. Some Internet-savvy science teacher has probably already explained the phenomenon to her students in exactly that way. As a fact.

Now the sand is sitting on top of the ice due to an exotic process that our experience on Earth tells us doesn't happen.

Next up it'll be meteorite dust. Anything to avoid the disturbing hypothesis of Martian life.

Charles Fort is chuckling in his grave.

Martian mystery solved?

Mike Maxwell, Laurel MD — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 03:40:20 GMT

You're all wrong wrong. This is where toilet brushes go when they go to heaven.

Martian mystery solved?

George Wagner, Cincinnati, Ohio — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 08:14:30 GMT

The most interesting thing ever said to me concerning the possibility of life on Mars came from a skeptical friend - "Over the past decade or so I've seen a couple of dozen ALMOST-convincing 'evidences' of buldings, pyramids, constructions, statuies, monuments, 'trees' and so on upon Mars. But those 'almosts' are starting to ADD UP, especially as other planets don't have ANY."

Martian mystery solved?

Tony Rusi, Mukilteo, WA — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:50:07 GMT

I don't know if any of you have spent time in the mountains in the summer, but if you did you would find dirt covered mounds of snow, resulting from the concentration of stuff left after most of the snow melts.

Martian mystery solved?

Jane, Southern Mississippi — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:18:09 GMT

If it's dark ice, I guess we shouldn't eat it if we ever get to Mars. Like yellow snow.

Martian mystery solved?

HS, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 03:38:42 GMT

The brown ice that is circulating around us is not specifically too good. It's suggested that you do stay away from that.

Martian mystery solved?

Jeremy,NY — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 04:04:06 GMT

Let's send Tom Cruise to Mars with a rocket launcher and see what happens!

Martian mystery solved?

Jeremy,NY — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 04:13:51 GMT

OH yeah...could we get some people who say things based on logic and fact and not stupid contradictions (Alan)! And it is true that we need to solve things here before we even start thinking about going elsewhere.By the way, why the heck would you think those are trees?! They're obiously blurred images of Alien troops that beat us to Mars (so much for the space race)!

Martian mystery solved?

dave toal, new bedford, ma — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:01:28 GMT

gr8 link to the arthur clarke info. the 'spider' formations apparently show fibonacci numbered branching, number of branches is not random in other words. also they seem too regular for co2 burst or explosive effects. no doubt there are several processes happening there, the co2 geysers might explan the dune streaks.

another site, this one has had the info for a while, a few years at least. http://www.martianspiders.com/

Martian mystery solved?

Nathan Morrison — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:09:33 GMT

I just sent Alan the real image from Clarke's discovery. It's been posted on the Coast to Coast site since last night, for easy access.

A simple fractal analysis of the 'trees' will tell you that they are not radial in design, but fractal. This means they are not geysers, but something created fractally. Can anyone name something that grows fractally to the size pictured? I sure can, on Earth, we call them trees.

-Nathan Morrison

Martian mystery solved?

Skinny — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 16:06:45 GMT

Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, were all in trouble.
Those are martian tree people!!! And they are planning their attack!

Martian mystery solved?

James, Detroit, Michigan — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:01:14 GMT

wow i dont care what it is hopefully oil cause then GW can leave iraq and go to mars... thats were hes from right? or at least he acts like it

Martian mystery solved?

MARIAN MULLEN-ST. LOUIS, MO. — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:11:53 GMT

ANY ASPECT OF SPACE THAT CAN BE CONFIRMED IS AWESOME!
AS A SCIENCE FICTION BUFF-WHO IS SCHEDULED TO PUBLISH
A NEW SERIES OF SHORT STORIES:"ALIEN RHELM"--
I AM INSPIRED BY THE REAL THING.

Martian mystery solved?

Marty, Carson City. — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:05:25 GMT

Lets send the next rover to that site. It would probably solve the mystery in a matter of weeks. Too bad it's too close to the pole for enough solar energy to power a rover.

Martian mystery solved?

dave stevens — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:26:44 GMT

The mars pictures above don't show what the planet really looks like. Go to Richard Hoaglands website www.enterprise.com. There he has mars pictures from viking, hubble, and spirit that show the ruins of mars of an ancient et civilization. These same pics are from the jpl and nasa web sites. Wake up america, our media is less free than communist russia or china state tv.

Martian mystery solved?

dirk diggler new york new york — Sat, 24 May 2008 06:38:41 GMT

i think we should just wait and see before we jump to any conclusions, people can be so impatient. the only way we'll know for certain is by sending a land rover or astronauts in the area where these "trees" were spotted.

Martian mystery solved?

Mr Cob — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:54:42 GMT

Well if NASA in the last 50 years can't find life beyond earth then what use are they? There funding should go toward keeping life alive where there is life "On Earth!"