The 'skull' is little more than a rock enhanced in Photoshop. Image Credit: YouTube / Paranormal Crucible
The alleged skeletal artifact appeared following an 'enhancement' of an image from the Curiosity rover.
The latest in a long line of strange objects spotted on the surface of the Red Planet by eagle-eyed anomaly hunters, this 'Sasquatch skull', which was picked up in a recent photograph sent back by NASA's Mars rover, has spent far too long being manipulated in Photoshop to be taken seriously.
The skull was presented recently in a new video by YouTube channel Paranormal Crucible which has become somewhat infamous for spotting dubious objects on the surface of Mars.
Described by the channel as "obviously alien in nature", the object's appearance is a classic case of pareidolia - the brain's natural tendency to see meaningful shapes in abstract patterns.
The photographic enhancements have also helped to make it appear more skull-like.
Despite being picked up by several mainstream news sites, the artifact, which has clocked up over 187,000 views on YouTube, is almost certainly nothing more than a random piece of rock.
meh i raise my hopes one day will get to see some real stuff here, worthy of the technological edge we live in. Perhaps sooner some private company can stick an iphone to a 4 wheeler toy and send it to Mars to take some damn good photos.
Yes agreed, spend 100's of millions on a Rover then put a poor camera on it. Still they have the satellite's in orbit, what I can't understand is why we never see the ultra high resolution pictures they are apparently capable of taking. Watch this video on the Curiosity Rover and the wheel design (about 30 secs into video) they can look down and count the revolution of the wheels from the orbiters.
It's a 'poor camera' only to those who don't (want to) know about it's purpose, and also what type of camera/sensor will withstand the conditions and last more than a day or two... You guys did notice that the craft is on wheels, btw? Ever hear the term 'zoom with your feet'? Try to understand what that means with regards to the resolution of the camera (and the other available cameras.....). So yeah, sending an Iphone-tech camera is such a great idea.. it wouldn't even survive the launch.
ChrLzs, with all due respect, why are you holding back from letting Mr. Skookum have it with both barrels? BTW, I found a blog post from the New Horizons team I think you'll enjoy https://blogs.nasa.gov/pluto/2016/06/03/processing-plutos-pictures/
Nice article. It reinforces the fact these folks know what they are doing.. For anyone to diss a camera on the simplistic basis of its resolution alone, clearly that person does not understand how basic photography works, let alone understand the additional huge challenges presented by the environment. As above, resolution is meaningless when you can simply drive closer or use a more appropriate camera, plus there are lots of simple (and complex ways) (eg image stacking/panoramas/wavelet-domain-restoration etc..) to 'increase' resolution without moving an inch, some of which are mentione... [More]
Some of us reading this thread today,will be fortunate during our life time and we'll be around to listen, see, and read the 1st hand accounts of what future astronauts who visit Mars have captured via their own senses.
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