My Findings
Detailed Pictures Of The Martian Fossils - Even Better Images
Once I had these first successes in extracting information that was not easily available, I tried them on other images and got even more impressive results. By then, the Sol 28 images were in and they clinched it very easily- this is something that is very clear to nearly anyone. But that is getting ahead of things- Sol 19 images came in and I got some very good information from them before I had developed software and methods for extracting all the information easily.
| This image is from
Opportunity, microscopic imager, Sol 019. At first glance, it does
not seem to be much, but it soon was clear that there was much here.
Note the upper right of the image- there is a "walnut shell" looking thing. It exhibits (once again) the same bilateral symmetry. It appears to be an inverted shell and is of a uniform thickness for most of its perimeter. It also has a "faceted" perimeter- simple polygon outline and two identical mirror image cavities on its interior. It appears to be the outer shell of something. But even more important, note the large sphere on the lower left- it is absolutely identical to spheres in previous images! This is not just a slight resemblance, but an absolutely perfect duplication. Its features (and those from the previous image) were contrast enhanced and they show exactly the same bulge and groove layout. |
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The above image is on the NASA site here: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/019/1M129869918EFF0338P2953M2M1.JPG
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Since the
microscopic imager took many pictures of this scene, and since the imager
was moved slightly in the process, I was able to locate two images that
would produce a stereoscopic pair.
They were at slightly different resolutions, but I scaled one to match the other. You can see this image in 3D by relaxing your eyes and using the same method for the "random dot" 3D posters. |
This proves that this object is hollow, like a shell. It also shows a very faint "granular" structure in the upper edge that can just barely be made out. Further image enhancements (and frame stacking) proves that this is a finely structured piece of material, with an arrangement of tiny cells or grains that are perpendicular to the thickness of the shell itself. Note also the two parallel grooves in the interior of this objects, running from the left top toward the right bottom. In a biological system, this is precisely where one might expect to find a muscle attachment ridge.
| Are there organisms
on Earth that might conceivably have such a structure? Yes.
The tadpole shrimp is a very primitive organism known to have been on the Earth in Cambrian times, and it shows a very similar structure for its "mantle", the part of its shell that covers its head. You will see that it has a linear notochord (nerve path) running down its back that is similar to the groove in the above "shell". These organisms are still alive today, a "living fossil" remnant of much earlier times. The horseshoe crab is also an excellent comparison to the "shell" in the above picture. |
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| Now, for
comparison, look at this enhanced image of the "shell" object
from the above picture.
This is not implied to be the same species at all, but just an illustration that this could well be the carapace from some extinct animal with similar appearance and properties. |
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