Fergie's Tech Blog

31 July 1976: NASA Relesease the Famous Viking I 'Face on Mars' Photo

Cydonia Mensae is an albedo feature (region) on Mars. It lies in the planet's northern hemisphere in a transitional zone between the heavily-cratered regions to the south and relatively smooth plains to the North. Cydonia itself is covered in numerous mesas and may have been a coastal zone if planetologists are correct in believing that the northern plains were once ocean beds.

One of the Cydonian mesas, situated at roughly 40.9 degrees North latitude and 9.45 degrees West longitude, took on the striking appearance of a human Face on Mars in a photo taken by Viking 1 in 1976. Whilst generally believed to be an optical illusion (pareidolia), others view it as evidence of a long-lost Martian civilization. Other features are argued to have been observed, such as apparent pyramids. A popular belief is that these are part of a ruined city. NASA has stated however that "a detailed analysis of multiple images of this feature reveals a natural looking martian hill whose illusory face-like appearance depends on viewing angle and angle of illumination.". More recent pictures by the Mars Global Surveyor seem only to confirm the validity of this scientific opinion.

posted by Fergie @ 7/31/2006 12:01:00 AM