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A Composite Band of Facial Features Within a Winding Valley of Libya

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A Composite Band of Facial Features Within a Winding Valley of Libya id10228515 pdfMachine by Broadgun Software - a great PDF writer! - a great PDF creator! - http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com Mehtapress 2015 Print - ISSN : 2319–9814 Journal of Online - ISSN : 2319–9822 SpFauclel pEapxepr loration Full Paper WWW.MEHTAPRESS.COM William R.Saunders1*, George A composite band of facial features within a J.Haas2, James S.Miller3, Michael A.Dale4 winding valley of Libya Montes on the planet Mars 13311-Wilson St. #412Penticton, Brit- ish Columbia, Canada V2A 8J3, (CANADA) Abstract 2The Cydonia Institute, PO Box 102, Purcellville, Virginia 20132 This is an analysis of a horizontal band of facial features located along the south facing side 315 Weymouth Dr., Howell, N.J. of a winding valley within the Libya Montes region of Mars observed in NASA images 07731 provided by the Mars Global Surveyor and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) 42225 W Natchez St., Broken Arrow, spacecraft. The images reveal a composite set of three fused portraits that exhibit the con- Oklahoma 74011 tours and defining aspects of three human and humanoid faces. Anatomical measurements of the three faces include individual eyes, nose, mouth, and chin features. When taken E-mail: [email protected], together these facial components induce the visual impression of sliced and conjoined faces [email protected], exhibiting a unique set of proportional facial features. The claim of intelligent design is [email protected], offered and a geologist and geoscientist examine natural mechanisms that could contribute [email protected] to the formation of these features. A terrestrial comparison of aesthetic and iconographic motifs is investigated. Further study and a request for additional images of these facial components are also encouraged. Received : June 05, 2015 Accepted : July 20, 2015 Published : October 14, 2015 Keywords Mars: Libya Montes, Crown face, geoglyph, Artifacts, MGS, MRO. *Corresponding author’s Name & Add. William R.Saunders 3311-Wilson St. #412Penticton, Brit- ish Columbia, Canada V2A 8J3, (CANADA) E-mail: [email protected] INTRODUCTION to be artificial. Richard Hoagland maintained that the face was not human, but was a bifurcated mask with a Between 1976 and 1980 the Viking I and Viking II humanoid visage on the western side and a feline vis- orbiters obtained images and data of the Martian sur- age on the eastern side[2]. With the release of higher face that covered the entire planet[1]. One anomalous resolution pictures of the formation, provided by the mesa in the Cydonia region that projected the form NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor in 1998 (Figure 1, cen- of a humanoid head caught the attention of NASA ter) and 2001 (Figure 1, right), a former orbital imag- scientists. Known as the famous Face on Mars the fa- ing specialist for the U.S Naval Observatory, Dr. Tom cial features appear on a large, rectangular mesa ap- Van Flandern[8] and an Electrical Engineer with an ex- proximately 2.5 kilometers long (Figure 1, left). Be- pertise in digital imaging Dr. Mark Carlotto[4] concluded yond NASA’s initial claim that the facial features were that facial features may indeed be artificial. natural and the results of “a trick of light and shadow,” In 2001 another facial formation was discovered in some independent researchers suspected the formation Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) narrow-angle image M03- JSE 4(2) 2015 . Full Paper Figure 1 : The Face on Mars (Cydonia), Left: Viking - 70A13 (1976). Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Cydonia Institute, Center: Mars global surveyor - SP 220003 (1998), Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Cydonia Institute, Right: Mars global surveyor - E03-00824 (2001), Image courtesy NASA/JPL/cydonia institute Figure 3 : The crowned face (AKA The King Face), Inverted and cropped portion of MOC image M02-03051 (2000), Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Orme group, Tom Van Flandern renamed it the Crowned Face[7] and organized a press conference at the Na- Figure 2 : The profiled face, MOC image M03-05549 (2001), Image courtesy NASA/JPL/The cydonia institute tional Press Club in New York on May 8th 2001 and presented various examples of anomalous formations 05549 by a member of the Society for Planetary SETI observed on Mars including the Crowned Face (Fig- Research (SPSR) John P. Levasseur. Located within ure 3) Speaking on the Crowned Face, Van Flandern the Syria Planum region of Mars the formation fea- commented: “While not near the Cydonia area, this tures the profiled portrait of a human head wearing a face portrayal is again striking for the richness of its cylindrical headdress[5] (Figure 2). The features include detail, far better than the typical face arising in clouds an eye, nose, mouth, and hair. Addition images pro- or geological formations on Earth. The latter tend to vided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) be distorted and grotesque when they are more than HiRISE camera in 2010 confirmed the formation and simply impressionistic.”[8] Due to the exposure of the its features[6]. On July 9, 2000 independent researcher Greg Orme press conference the images of the Crowned Face ap- discovered a band of facial features in a section of MGS peared in the New York Post and on Good Morning narrow-angle image M02-03051 that he originally re- America and FOX News. In addition newspapers and ferred to as the King Face (Figure 3). Soon after the its online news sources, TV stations located in Canada discovery, founding member of the Meta Research and Europe also mentioned Orme’s discovery[9]. FP 148 Full Paper JSE 4(2) 2015 THE COMPOSITE BAND OF FACIAL FEA- TURES MGS MOC images of the facial features The original image for this study was obtained via the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) website. The Mars Global Surveyor narrow-angle image M02-03051 was acquired on June 22, 1999 and released to the public on May 22, 2000[10]. The area examined is in the Libya Montes region of Mars located between 1.94° to 3.39° North and 275.45° to 275.59° West[11]. The composite band of facial features is located ap- proximately in the center of the swath between a large mound in the north and a channel running across the area from east to west. The formation is approximately 876 meters long from the top of the craggy ridge line to the base of the valley (Figure 4). Due to the ex- treme length of the source image M02-03051, the strip presented in Figure 3 was inverted and cropped at the top and bottom of the image. The composite band of facial features highlighted within a boxed section of the image. The area of interest is a structural pattern expressed in the topography along the valley wall that suggests a band of gigantic facial features that Orme referred to as the King Face or Crown Face (Figure 4). In examining the surface patterns observed within the valley wall we noted that the facial formations form a set of sliced portraits of recognizable facial features in the appropriate size, shape, and anatomical orienta- tion of companion features that include an eye, eye brow, nose, nostril, mouth and chin. Two mars reconnaissance orbiter images of the fa- cial features In 2005 the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) space- craft launched from Cape Canaveral in route to Mars with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on board. Utilizing the public tar- geting request form provided on the Arizona Univer- sity Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) HiRISE website independent researcher Greg Orme requested additional images of the Libya Montes region of Mars, showing the composite band of facial features under different conditions[12]. In 2010 the MRO HiRISE CTX camera captured two images of the composite band of facial features (Figure 5 and Figure 6). Both images have been inverted and cropped at the top and bottom of the strip. Due to the direct sun Figure 4 : Left: portion of MOC image M02-03051 (2000). In- exposure to the valley wall, in the early morning hours, verted and notated with the location of the composite band of both images were enhanced with minor contrast ad- facial features, Right: detail, Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Cy- donia institute justments to the original presentation. The two MRO FP 149 JSE 4(2) 2015 . Full Paper Figure 5 : Detail of facial features Figure 6 : Detail of facial features, MRO HiRISE ESP_018368_1830 (2010), Image courtesy arizona university/ HiRISE images were acquired via the public targeting cydonia institute, Enhancement by the cydonia institute program. Greg Orme submitted two requests for the HiRISE camera to image the area on March 12, 2010. and third HiRISE images. The first photograph of the The first MRO image ESP_018223_1830 was targeted formation MOC image M02-03051 was taken in 1999 on June 16, 2010 and released to the public on August during the summer in mid-afternoon (3:53 PM) from an emission or camera angle of 0.21degrees off nadir 2, 2010[13] (Figure 5). The second MRO image at an altitude of 384.58 km (238.967 miles). The MOC ESP_018368_1830 was targeted on June 27, 2010 and image has a resolution of 5.78 meters per pixel. The released to the public on August 2, 2010[14] (Figure 6). second photograph MRO HiRISE image MOC HiRISE ESP_018223_1830 (2010). Image cour- ESP_018223_1830 was acquired eleven years later in tesy Arizona University/Cydonia Institute. Enhance- 2010 during summer at mid-afternoon (3:23 PM) from ment by the Cydonia Institute an emission or camera angle of 7.1 degrees off nadir at an altitude of 272.2 km (170.2 miles). The image has a MOC & MRO ancillary data – sun and camera angles resolution of 54.5 centimeters per pixel.
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