In 1967, Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin captured the famous footage of what many cryptozooligists and kooks believe is Bigfoot. Perhaps sick of urban sprawl, the Patterson-Gimin Sasquatch relocated to the Red Planet.
In a panoramic image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in November 2007, a Bigfoot-like figure appears among the surface formations. The Internet grabbed hold of this photo around the beginning of 2008, and bloggers have been nuts over it. For some, this proves life on Mars. Perspective be damned. For these theorists, to paraphrase Austin Powers, “It’s a hominid, baby.”
That’s quite a leap from evidence of past water on Mars. However, if any machines could ever prove life existing elsewhere than Earth, it will be those industrious rovers.
Unfortunately, NASA played the role of wet blanket last Friday by announcing the shape is not Bigfoot or any other bipedal creature. Instead, this figure is a “2-inch sedimentary rock that has been eroded by the wind.” Cue the trombone … wah, wah, waaaah!
What a disappointment. But this isn’t the end of the rainbow. Maybe a chupacabra will turn up in a MESSENGER image of Mercury.
Although the image in this article is a bit blurry, higher res images clearly show that the "hominid" is simply a shadow on the side of a rock, the rest of which blends in with the background. However, upon close inspection the outline of the rock can be clearly discerned. I'm just surprised at how many "kooks" refuse to see the obvious. This is no different from those "optical illusion" books where your turn the picture of the pretty girl upside down to get an old woman.
Hey, wait a minute....it DOES look like an old woman! ;>
...and the blue arrow above her is clearly a sign of intelligent life!