...leaving a cut-out round chunk of the edge of Mar's surface in its wake, or a dark sphere in the foreground (between us and the edge of Mars) that is obscuring the edge of Mars' surface behind it. (The dark sphere is "in front" in the photo image.) Both of these perceptions could be optical illusions, of course. Sunlight is hitting the "left" side of Mars (in the photo) and the "dark sphere"' is lit on its "right" side (its NE area). That argues for optical illusion. (What is the source of the light that makes the sphere seem spherical, with light on one side and a spherical shadow beneath it?) That a spherical chunk of Mars that big has detached from its surface seems, well, impossible. That an "object"--a dark sphere--could be circling Mars (and the photographers just happened to catch it as it was rounding the edge) is more possible but still fantastic. It looks (to my eye) rather like a moon or satellite--and, frankly, the "Dark Star" of the Star Wars movies immediately sprang to my mind (large artificial orb--armed and dangerous). That's totally silly, I know. (Have the Galactic Powers finally decided to deal with the errant race on Earth or at least keep us under surveillance?) But it really doesn't look like a cloud. Could be. Probably is. More than probably is. Could also be a volcanic eruption. But still....
It's damn weird. Why is it so spherical looking? Clouds drift. They don't form spheres (let alone perfect-looking spheres). They look flat or flat-ish as they drift over a planet close to the surface. Volcanoes spew jets up from the surface. They don't spew spheres.
Kudos and laurel wreaths, once again, to all the amateur astronomers of Planet Earth! I hope that they are rewarded some day, for all those long, long nights out in the cold among the stars!
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I recently just happened to hear a radio interview (it was the NPR show, "The Story"
by a SETI member who said, contrary to common opinion that governments, militaries and thousands of scientists around the world are looking for extraterrestrial intelligence, there are a total of only TWELVE people in the SETI project! It only takes one, I guess, with the right software and equipment. But I was startled by this fact. How could the most important project that Earthlings have ever mounted be so understaffed?
I was aware that the U.S. government stupidly... STUPIDLY! ...defunded the SETI project (it costs only $2 million) and that it was struggling financially (they have raised the money privately). I'm also aware of the limits of SETI--that radio signals are only one of several possible ways of detecting ET--but SETI, combined with all the recent discoveries of planets around the galaxy, i.e., directing radio signal receivers at those planets, and with increased analytical speed, is a very well-founded choice for this overwhelmingly important human project.
The galaxy is teeming with other planets--a fact that wasn't known until recently. In short, there is more of an effort here, than just the 12 apostles of SETI. They are helped by the work of other astronomers and computer programmers. Still, I can't help but be appalled at the mis-direction of our government at war and enriching the filthy rich, while a discovery that would be many orders of magnitude more important than the Western World's discovery of the Americas, and, indeed, that would be of equal (if not more) importance than the human discovery of fire, is retarded by lack of funding. How stupid can you get? Well, some of us aren't. That may be the redeeming feature of our species. Amateurs, "civilians," out-of-favor, unfunded scientists, oddballs and dreamers may yet redeem the stupidity of our so-called leaders and the greed and brutality of those whom they serve.
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