Cydonia Quest

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Image Enhancements

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The First MOC Images of the D&M Pyramid

Part Two

The D&M Satellite Mound - a Possible Collapsed Arcology. The new Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) imagery of the D&M Pyramid has also allowed for a closer inspection of its apparently collapsed satellite mound. This feature begins where the eastern corner of the D&M should be and can be seen as a gaping wound in the "Synthesizzler" mosaic of the new MOC image strips below.

As always with these outsized images the reader is advised to use the "View" then "Full Screen" options from the menu bar at the top of their browser screens to see the images more clearly.

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The MGS image of the east side of the D&M is of poor quality - perhaps due to the Cydonia skies being dusty when it was taken. The illustration below shows the D&M's apparently collapsed satellite at full resolution. The reader will note that it is not very clear. However, there does seem to be a cellular pattern on the higher surfaces, which probably corresponds to those we saw in Part One in the very highest resolution image through the centre of the D&M. It can also be seen that the southern and eastern walls of this hypothetical satellite arcology only remain in residual form and that the interior of the gaping hollow is also subdivided by what may be the remains of interior supporting walls. (Although these sub-divisions are easier to make out in the reduced D&M illustration above).

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This image of the D&M's collapsed satellite shows an underlying parallelism in the two sides of the wall that remains on the north side of this collapse feature. It also ends in a suggestively angular way. This is shown in red in the smaller illustration above. The other lines show straight features in the landscape that trend in the same general direction as this northern wall.

Malin Space Science Systems have promised to re-image the east and west sides of the D&M at the very highest resolution. Hopefully, a new, clearer image of the D&M satellite mound will provide fine detail information that will give some clues as to whether or not it is a long ruined arcology. As the larger illustration of the two above shows, there are some other puzzling features in the area around the collapsed satellite.

Interestingly, the proposed "SuperBowl" arcology also appears to have an underlying five walled support structure, similar to that of the D&M Pyramid, despite its round shape. The south eastern ridge line also ends in a satellite mound very much like that at the eastern corner of the D&M. Unlike the D&M satellite mound, this has not collapsed into a void and may provide us with an idea of how the D&M satellite might have once looked.

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The "SuperBowl" was first drawn to my attention by Keith Laney who suggested that the shape of the two exposed ridge lines and its rougher upper surfaces might indicate an underlying pentagonal support structure like the D&M. These indicative features are shaded in pink with the positions of the five proposed support walls shown in yellow.

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The positioning of a mound at the end of ridge lines with similar orientations in both the D&M Pyramid and the "SuperBowl" points to a possible repeated design motif. The enlargement above shows the "SuperBowl" satellite mound. The "SuperBowl" has only been imaged at the lower end of MGS's resolution capabilities. The enlargement suggests that there might be features of note if it were to be imaged at MGS's highest resolution. In fact there is much of interest about the "SuperBowl" and the surrounding area, (for details click these "stargates" µµµ & µµµ). So a number of requests have been forwarded for the area to be imaged at higher resolutions under the MGS's public request targeting service.

Returning to the subject of satellite mounds it is noticeable that a number of the larger suggested candidates for arcology status at Cydonia have them. This includes the interesting arrangement adjoining the East Formation in the City, click µµµ. (See composite illustration below which was taken from µµµ). It is a very curious coincidence that suggests a design intent.

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