From CNI News Used By Permission

NEW PHOTO OF CYDONIA SUGGESTS "FORT" NOT ARTIFICIAL

Among the controversial landforms in the Cydonia region of Mars, the
so-called Fort (or Fortress) has seemed a particularly strong candidate for
possible artificiality, "in some ways more intriguing than the Face,"
according to Dr. Mark Carlotto in his book "The Martian Enigmas: A Closer
Look" (North Atlantic Books, 1997). In a 1976 photograph from the Viking
orbiter, the Fort -- located in the northeast corner of the so-called "City"
grouping -- "appears to include several wall-like sections including two
straight sides enclosing an inner space," Carlotto wrote. In computer
enhanced renderings of the Viking photo, the Fort looks very clearly like a
triangle-shaped space enclosed by two thick, straight walls positioned at
angles to a possibly natural rocky formation.

     Now, however, two newly-released high resolution photos from the Mars
Global Surveyor (MGS) show the Fort in a very different light. According to
Carlotto, these photos were taken in August and November of 1999 while the
MGS was almost directly overhead. Lighting is good and distortion is very
low. If the Fort were an artificial object, these photos might very well
offer proof.

     Instead, admits Carlotto, "the Fort loses its geometrical appearance in
the new MGS image." Indeed, an examination of comparison photos posted by
Carlotto on his website shows how the combination of oblique lighting and
low-resolution imagery produced the impression of artificial-looking
structure in the Viking photo -- an impression that now seems probably false.
[See Carlotto's presentation of the new data at

http://www.psrw.com/~markc/Articles/April_2000/April2000.html

     NASA continues to offer assurances that the Cydonia region will be
rephotographed by MGS until legitimate questions about the nature of the Face
and other nearby structures can be resolved.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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