Latest Pic from Mars. Where's Waldo?

[Shiloh17]

Could be a dead crab that was seeking shade when the water dried up eons ago.

[Sweetpumper]

Alien crabs.

[coolguy]

I see a crab with a face on ir

Edited August 6, 2015 by coolguy

[stevemagegod]

We have only explored 1% of the Red Planet. And with a Rover not a actual Human. We haven't even seen what Mars is like underground. For all we know life if thriving underground and these Martian Crabs will occasionally surface for whatever reason they have.

[Merc14]

We have only explored 1% of the Red Planet. And with a Rover not a actual Human. We haven't even seen what Mars is like underground. For all we know life if thriving underground and these Martian Crabs will occasionally surface for whatever reason they have.

You seriously believe that crabs are living beneath the surface of Mars? Do you have any idea what science Curiosity is doing or do you just think it is taking photos?

Edited August 6, 2015 by Merc14

[Anomalocaris]

There is no crab on Mars. The planet is dead.

[Varelse]

Sooooo you really believe that there are plants and crabs on mars?

Can't say. If life can exist in deep ocean hydrothermal vents near 400°C who's to say where life cycles can can exist? Then there's the chance of finding fossils or petrified plants from ages ago when conditions were better suited for life. You don't know. I don't know. No one knows..yet.

[C.J.]

If you zoom in on the crab you can actually see the face Jesus. Crazy.

[Astra.]

If you zoom in on the crab you can actually see the face Jesus.

[Anomalocaris]

If you zoom in on the crab you can actually see the face Jesus. Crazy.

Then it's a miracle

Edited August 6, 2015 by Anomalocaris

[Astra.]

There is no crab on Mars. The planet is dead.

They have clue's as to water once being there - as to massive outflows of watery channels which have carved -

out some of the Mars landscape. Perhaps much of the ancient water still remains frozen well under the surface.

Hence - why they are searching for possible ancient life that may have existed billions of years ago.

@Edit to add -

Sorry Anom - you probably already knew that

Edited August 6, 2015 by Astra-

[Space Commander Travis]

So it's a fossil crab. Mystery solved, and everyone's happy.

[psyche101]

They have clue's as to water once being there - as to massive outflows of watery channels which have carved -

out some of the Mars landscape. Perhaps much of the ancient water still remains frozen well under the surface.

Hence - why they are searching for possible ancient life that may have existed billions of years ago.

@Edit to add -

Sorry Anom - you probably already knew that

No magnetosphere.

Mars is a fossil.

[Astra.]

No magnetosphere.

Mars is a fossil.

Yeah! - so what's your point ?

[Space Commander Travis]

No magnetosphere.

Mars is a fossil.

that's what we've been saying.

[psyche101]

that's what we've been saying.

It lost it quite some time ago.

Edited August 6, 2015 by psyche101

[psyche101]

Can't say. If life can exist in deep ocean hydrothermal vents near 400°C who's to say where life cycles can can exist? Then there's the chance of finding fossils or petrified plants from ages ago when conditions were better suited for life. You don't know. I don't know. No one knows..yet.

Existing is one thing, becoming seems to be quite another one altogether. Because life can exist somewhere does not mean it can start there.

[Astra.]

So it's a fossil crab.

Not just any fossil crab - it also bares the face of Jesus

Mystery solved

Oh - so it's been completely de-bunked ? ?

[

and everyone's happy.

Really ? - everybody ?

[Space Commander Travis]

Not just any fossil crab - it also bares the face of Jesus

Oh - so it's been completely de-bunked ? ?

[ Really ? - everybody ?

Yes, it's a fossil Crab. That surely is enough to satisfy anyone.

[Lilly]

Here's an interesting explanation from a geologist: https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3fuwrh/weird_rock_on_mars/

[ChrLzs]

Thanks seeder, for both drawing my attention to this, and also providing a link to a high (?) res version... here.

First up, a few comments - I'm being lazy and not bothering to check if there is a better, uncompressed version - this image is most certainly badly compromised by jpeg artifacting. In particular look at the horribly obvious little 8x8 pixel 'quantised' squares that are so typical of a high-compression / low-quality jpeg. Here's a PROPERLY enlarged (ie NO fancy enlarging algorithm, just a pixel by pixel enlargement) and UN-processed version. I've crudely drawn some squares around some of the jpeg block boundaries (click to enlarge):

Note that every one of those squares is just a vaguely close match to what the camera *actually* recorded - JPEG uses various techniques, eg using the same squares over and over, or using squares that can be generated by very compact maths. What does that mean, in reality? Simple, it means that you CANNOT trust any small low contrast shapes to be accurate. Even when viewed at 100% (where the image will only be about 5" across), you can see the false detail. Enlarging it is asking for trouble - it is NOT of good enough quality to enlarge (as should be clear from how awful it looks), let alone to add contrast or sharpening (both of which add false detail on top of the already false detail..).

For anyone who really sees a crab, or indeed anything terrestrial in that mush, I'd simply ask you to do a simple experiment.

You're going to need a good quality image processor that allows you to enlarge an image WITHOUT interpolating (ie making up new pixels and inserting them), but that also allows you turn interpolation on.... I use XnView - in the options you can turn 'high quality' enlarging off and on. Off means true enlarging so you get to see the original pixels. ON means you are seeing false data that Xnview makes up to fill in the details with realistic looking data... Good for faces and pics of flowers, NOT good for analysing unknown objects.

Look at the image at 100%, and then slowly enlarge it and watch the area in question. When interpolation is OFF, at some zoom levels the shape seems a little more defined, but at no point is it convincing. Then turn interpolation ON ('high quality') and watch - the 'crab effect' becomes quite strong, and more and more false detail gets added as you zoom in.... If you play with the sliders and add contrast and sharpening you can virtually turn it into whatever takes your fancy..

Face it, when we pore over gigabytes of images, there *will* be some shapes that look a bit odd, just like seeing animals in the clouds... And that 'enhanced' image that is being circulated has very obviously had detail added to it. Probably not deliberately, but very much INCOMPETENTLY, I'm afraid. Step away from Photoshop, dude who did that...

BTW Merc, thanks for remembering and naming that earlier, similar example of the Martian 'snail shell' - here it is...

Edited August 6, 2015 by ChrLzs

[Mantis914]

Thanks seeder, for both drawing my attention to this, and also providing a link to a high (?) res version... here.

First up, a few comments - I'm being lazy and not bothering to check if there is a better, uncompressed version - this image is most certainly badly compromised by jpeg artifacting. In particular look at the horribly obvious little 8x8 pixel 'quantised' squares that are so typical of a high-compression / low-quality jpeg. Here's a PROPERLY enlarged (ie NO fancy enlarging algorithm, just a pixel by pixel enlargement) and UN-processed version. I've crudely drawn some squares around some of the jpeg block boundaries (click to enlarge):

Note that every one of those squares is just a vaguely close match to what the camera *actually* recorded - JPEG uses various techniques, eg using the same squares over and over, or using squares that can be generated by very compact maths. What does that mean, in reality? Simple, it means that you CANNOT trust any small low contrast shapes to be accurate. Even when viewed at 100% (where the image will only be about 5" across), you can see the false detail. Enlarging it is asking for trouble - it is NOT of good enough quality to enlarge (as should be clear from how awful it looks), let alone to add contrast or sharpening (both of which add false detail on top of the already false detail..).

For anyone who really sees a crab, or indeed anything terrestrial in that mush, I'd simply ask you to do a simple experiment.

You're going to need a good quality image processor that allows you to enlarge an image WITHOUT interpolating (ie making up new pixels and inserting them), but that also allows you turn interpolation on.... I use XnView - in the options you can turn 'high quality' enlarging off and on. Off means true enlarging so you get to see the original pixels. ON means you are seeing false data that Xnview makes up to fill in the details with realistic looking data... Good for faces and pics of flowers, NOT good for analysing unknown objects.

Look at the image at 100%, and then slowly enlarge it and watch the area in question. When interpolation is OFF, at some zoom levels the shape seems a little more defined, but at no point is it convincing. Then turn interpolation ON ('high quality') and watch - the 'crab effect' becomes quite strong, and more and more false detail gets added as you zoom in.... If you play with the sliders and add contrast and sharpening you can virtually turn it into whatever takes your fancy..

Face it, when we pore over gigabytes of images, there *will* be some shapes that look a bit odd, just like seeing animals in the clouds... And that 'enhanced' image that is being circulated has very obviously had detail added to it. Probably not deliberately, but very much INCOMPETENTLY, I'm afraid. Step away from Photoshop, dude who did that...

BTW Merc, thanks for remembering and naming that earlier, similar example of the Martian 'snail shell' - here it is...

Well, now you done did it, ChrLzs! You turned it from a crab, into an octopus...

[MissJatti]

Why doesn't NASA move the rover for closer inspection?

[tyrant lizard]

Im no imagery expert, but see the pre-zoom? I wonder how much it was 'enhanced'. If it is really that shape etc, Its one of the better anomaly images Ive seen

[BeastieRunner]

Way to give me nightmares, tyrant lizard.