Is this a dome, saucer and pyramid....on Mars?

originally posted by: wildespace
Exact coordinates for the "dome" - 23 44 45.53 N, 18 55 38.70 W

Here it is at 2x of original image scale, and with slightly improved contrast:

The image page says that the Sun was approx 45 degrees above the horizon when this image was taken. If this were a sphere or tall dome, it would have left a much bigger shadow.

Actually, at 45 degree Sun angle, an object's shadow on level ground will be just as long as the object is tall. Let's assume, for simplicity, that this "dome" is on level ground. At the original image scale, the shadow is at best 4 pixels long. The image's resolution is 25 cm / pixel, giving us 1 meter.

Thus, this "dome" is only about 1 meter tall. It's just a fairly flat and vaguely round formation, probably of sedimentary nature.



P.S. bonus - a nearly true-colour image of the "dome", albeit at a lower resolution:

The Sun angle for this one was only 25 degrees above the gorizon, which would have left one hell of a shadow if it were a sphere or a dome.

Here, I used the colour from the second image with the higher-rez first image for this composite:

What ever it is, or how it was formed, it still looks like a ball or some sort of phallic shaped dome.

originally posted by: Violater1
What ever it is, or how it was formed, it still looks like a ball or some sort of phallic shaped dome.

I think you've been looking at your own phallus too much...

a reply to: wildespace

Oh that was a good burn!

Think of a drop of water hitting a surface of water, now think of the shape and render it to the posted image.

originally posted by: Zarniwoop
I've learned over the years that it is impossible to determine the shape of a rock without at least more than one angle. I've been fooled more than once

That is not a problem, as I found three more photos for that area, ESP_016262_2040, ESP_015985_2040 and ESP_011884_2045.

The first two of them are a stereo pair, so here's my attempt at 3D versions of that "dome".

An anaglyph:


A "parallel view" image:


An animated GIF:


Looking at these images I think the top of the "dome" is almost flat but not horizontal, with the edge closer to the top of the image higher than the edge closer to the bottom.

I can see layers, so it definitely seems to be of sedimentary origin. Perhaps it was a small impact crater that got filled with water, creating a little lake. The sediments then got deposited at the centre of the lake. When water eventually evaporated, the exposed sediment heap was subjected to wind erosion.

Just my 2 cents.