Cydonia Quest

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Image Enhancements

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THEMIS Reveals Existence of a "SuperBowl City"

The summer image dump from the THEMIS camera of the Mars Odyssey included a visible light image of the area around the enigmatic formations dubbed the "SuperBowl" and Big "H" by Cydonia Quest. These had earlier been discovered by the high resolution MOC camera of the Mars Global Surveyor. The MOC image had neatly framed the two formations in one of its very narrow image strips, but left a mystery about what kind of other features might surround them. THEMIS visible light images are typically of 18 metres per screen pixel resolution and so cover far more ground per image strip than those taken by the MOC. As the one third scale version of the THEMIS image below shows, the "SuperBowl" and Big "H" are revealed to be surrounded by an interesting collection of mounds and other features.

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The MOC image of the "SuperBowl" and Big "H" had been captured towards the lower end of its resolution capabilities. However, they did show that not only did the "SuperBowl" exhibit the strange Cydonia phenomenon of moating, but that this moating process was actively in progress and appeared to be due to inward collapse. This raised the possibility that the "SuperBowl" had internal hollows and was of artificial origin. The illustration below shows the full sized MOC image of the "SuperBowl" and Big "H". A more detailed analysis of these two formations can be read by clicking this "stargate" µµµ.

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The following illustration is a 50% reduction of the most interesting parts of the THEMIS image of the area. It has been hyperlinked to a full sized version, so the reader can see the full scale image merely by clicking on the image below. (Large internet images are best examined in Microsoft Explorer by clicking "View" from the top toolbar of the browser screen and "Full Screen" in the menu that then drops down). There are a number of things of interest in this image. Firstly, there is the strange wall-like arrangement that begins close to the western side of the Big "H" and then extends out at a right angle to it. There was no hint of its existence in the MOC image above and it has a distinctly artificial look to it. Secondly, a number of the other mounds in the area show signs either of inward collapse or sagging centres. It is therefore possible that these strange mounds represent a collection of super buildings otherwise known as arcologies. It is for this reason that the area is being dubbed "SuperBowl City" for the purposes of this web-site. Previous to the release of the THEMIS image of "SuperBowl City" I had requested Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) to take a new image with the MOC at its highest resolution of the "SuperBowl" itself. Hopefully, the THEMIS image may encourage them to also image all the surrounding anomalies too.

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cccccccccccccccccccClick the above illustration to view the full sized version of the image.

"SuperBowl City" has also been captured by the low resolution 100 metre per pixel infra-red component of the THEMIS camera system. This makes it possible to show where "SuperBowl City" is in relation to the original Cydonia "City", D&M Pyramid and "Face", (click µµµ). The next illustration shows "SuperBowl City" at the top of the image and the original "City" mounds at the bottom. The "Face" and D&M Pyramid are just off the right hand side of the picture close to the Cydonia "City". The two "cities" are approximately twenty miles apart.

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The original THEMIS source material for this article can be found here µµµ and here µµµ.

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