NASA photo captures strange bright light coming out of Mars

[DocM]

Good old Giorgio, he has achieved an immortality the rest of us can only dream of :whistle:

[Hurmoth]

I'm so disappointed that it took nearly two pages for someone to post the Aliens meme. What is wrong with you people?!!!  :laugh:

[techbeck]

Was the reflection off this guys telescope. 

[IsItPluggedIn]

Anytime somebody talks about life on Mars I just think of the movie Pitch Black.

[123456789A]

Maybe it's the last copy of Windows XP.

[LaP]

perhaps its a gas that is on fire. 

 

 

or perhaps the aliens were tired of being in the dark and turned on the front porch lights.

 

The simplest answer is always the right one.

 

Aliens.

[Order_66]

It's sniper glare from some BF4 newb.

[JustGeorge]

Probably junk from another rover or probe reflecting light.

[IntegralDerivative]

Maybe there a alien hideout underground!!!they should totes check it out!!! Thatll be cool!!!

[Krome]

No that was a weather balloon NASA sent up to check the weather.

[LaP]

There's many ways this strange light source could be explained. But none of them can be proved therefore it is by default Aliens.

[Kravex]

It's a rover from an alternative reality looking at ours...

[Hum]

"In the thousands of images we've received from Curiosity, we see ones with bright spots nearly every week," said Justin Maki of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., leader of the team that built and operates the Navigation Camera. "These can be caused by cosmic-ray hits or sunlight glinting from rock surfaces, as the most likely explanations."

 

I'd like them to explain how extremely high frequency cosmic rays get turned into visible light.

 

I have read cosmic rays can pass right thru a planet.

 

Typical particles produced in such collisions are neutrons and charged mesons such as positive or negative pions and kaons. Some of these subsequently decay into muons, which are able to reach the surface of the Earth, and even penetrate for some distance into shallow mines.

[HawkMan]

It doesn't have to be visible to overpower a digital sensor.

[duoi Veteran]

I'd like them to explain how extremely high frequency cosmic rays get turned into visible light.

 

I have read cosmic rays can pass right thru a planet.

 

Typical particles produced in such collisions are neutrons and charged mesons such as positive or negative pions and kaons. Some of these subsequently decay into muons, which are able to reach the surface of the Earth, and even penetrate for some distance into shallow mines.

 

When the photons or electrons hit the camera lens or the electronic detector, the camera interprets it as physical light. On Earth, our atmosphere more or less prevents these from happening. Cosmic rays refer to any high energy particles, and not specifically to obscure quarks.

 

This photo itself is flawed in that NAVCAM is a stereo pair of cameras and not a single camera; this bright spot only occurred in the photo of one camera but not the other, even though they took a photo of the same place at the same time. This tells us that it was in fact an error.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Definitely can't say it's artificial from that picture imo. It could be a number of things. AFAIK, the rover travels so slow that it would take a heck of a long time to get there.

[Hum]

When the photons or electrons hit the camera lens or the electronic detector, the camera interprets it as physical light. On Earth, our atmosphere more or less prevents these from happening. Cosmic rays refer to any high energy particles, and not specifically to obscure quarks.

 

This photo itself is flawed in that NAVCAM is a stereo pair of cameras and not a single camera; this bright spot only occurred in the photo of one camera but not the other, even though they took a photo of the same place at the same time. This tells us that it was in fact an error.

Doesn't explain why there is a concentrated 'beam' of light.

 

If it is cosmic rays, there should be a general cloud of light.

 

I should be able to walk outside, point my camera to the sky, and catch these invisible 'cosmic rays'.

 

This radiation supposedly will penetrate an underground mine shaft.

 

If the rays are 'filtered out' by atmosphere, then how are they 'beaming' thru that mountain in the background ...

 

.... artificial light emanating outward from the planet's surface.

[Bryan R.]

Doesn't explain why there is a concentrated 'beam' of light.

 

If it is cosmic rays, there should be a general cloud of light.

 

I should be able to walk outside, point my camera to the sky, and catch these invisible 'cosmic rays'.

 

This radiation supposedly will penetrate an underground mine shaft.

 

If the rays are 'filtered out' by atmosphere, then how are they 'beaming' thru that mountain in the background ...

 

.... artificial light emanating outward from the planet's surface.

You are talking about this cosmic rays theory from a bias perspective, not objective. Otherwise you would't try to trivialize cosmic rays as if there's not different types and act as if it's so bizarre that a camera doesn't see everything as it is. If the picture has what looks like a small focus of light, it doesn't mean there's light... just that the lens, sensor, physical properties of the equipment aren't compatible with whatever particles are being projected at it. Just like our own eyes, which give us a rather poor representation of the universe.

[DocM]

Example: the Apollo astronauts saw bright, pinpoint flashes of light when "cosmic rays" (actually energetic protons, electrons etc) impacted their retina cells. Doesn't mean there was a corresponding bright light attached to the inside wall of the capsule.

Here these particles are simply impacting the light sensitive elements in the cams CCD. This causes an ionization that causes a current which the system interprets as a flash of light. Doesn't mean there was one.

[perochan]

NASA caught a glimp of the Imagination ship from The Cosmo.

[pallipdrsn0]

Perhaps slightly off-topic, but I find these videos to be fascinating:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy9euFudUIY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOz6LiCWBRg

[Hum]

You are talking about this cosmic rays theory from a bias perspective, not objective. Otherwise you would't try to trivialize cosmic rays as if there's not different types and act as if it's so bizarre that a camera doesn't see everything as it is. If the picture has what looks like a small focus of light, it doesn't mean there's light... just that the lens, sensor, physical properties of the equipment aren't compatible with whatever particles are being projected at it. Just like our own eyes, which give us a rather poor representation of the universe.

I asked some serious questions, which you, much like NASA, fail to explain.

Cosmic rays are not focused in a narrow beam, so there is no reason for there to be a small beam of light.

I have never seen cosmic rays, nor captured any with a camera.

And speaking of Apollo, odd how none of the alleged Moon photos don't show these phantom flares of cosmic rays.

The Moon has even less atmosphere than Mars -- or so we are told.

[Turk.]

NASA already explained it, no more conspiracy :)

[Hum]

NASA already explained it, no more conspiracy :)

NASA supplied another fluff answer.

No wonder their nickname is Never A Straight Answer. ;)

[HighwayGlider]

Yep, its a pigeon.