Lunar Strip Mine in John Lear's Moon Photos??

Originally posted by johnlear
Originally posted by marg6043

Thanks for the clarification of the images.

Is truly fascinating, but I still believe that it can be an ancient site of some mining operations way before our time in earth perhaps.

It if was 1966 how come Is not roads or anything left behind?

Ask yourself (or ask somebody) what would be the indications if this mine was in full operation? Clouds of dust? Would there be huge piles of sloping overburden? Would there be cranes of any sort? Would there be refining facilities and if there were what would be the indications of refinement facilities? Would there be tanks containing chemicals? Would chemical reactions cause vapor to rise or fall from the top of these tanks depending on their specific gravity? Oops, never mind, there can't be any vapor on the moon, its a vacuum.

Good point, John. Also clouds of dust are impossible in a vacuum as well because clouds can only be formed in liquid medium like a gaseous atmosphere.

[edit on 19-9-2006 by crgintx]

[edit on 19-9-2006 by crgintx]

Here's a more fun thought for those of the Creationist's bent:

This mining was done in the period between the fall of man and the flood. Some of the men of renown (nephilim) were mining in space and came back down after the flood was over. That's why you see Nephlim both before and after the flood.

I'm so glad I have a somewhat plauseable sense of humor.

The more I look at this, the more I think it's a natural feature of the impact that created the crater.

These two first shots are of Crater Hale, one overhead and one at angle.





The next two are of Crater Pythagoris.
Overhead:


South wall rotated and from inside the crater.



One last one I want to point out is Tycho.
Same features, but not as defined.




All these craters have a similar wall structure as the original picture posted at the start of this thread.


EDIT: tidying up

[edit on 19/9/2006 by anxietydisorder]

Maybe its not natural features that created those craters...... What if the impacts are from a giant alien probe sucking the Moon's resources......hmmmmm........nah...

Good work there anxietydisorder, though it's possible that.....eh never mind

good job.



[edit on 19-9-2006 by XPhiles]

Originally posted by spacedoubt
Titanium?
the Bluer the area, the more titanium present.

Why would you want to mine in Copernicus Crater and not in Mare Tranquillitatis? From your picture, it is there where the whole mining operation should have been...(the bluest area of all the areas)

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
On the other hand, there are some compelling features that have unique parallels.

en.wikipedia.org...

If this is a surface mining site, I think it's ancient.

And so do many mountains.




And here's some "steppes".




I'd say since those features can be entirely natural, and given current knowledge on the moon - I'd choose the simple logical way and say it's natural.


Also, if you take a closer look, you'll notice there's a "grid" over the image in the initial post, which can give the impression of "steppes" and "ridges".

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

en.wikipedia.org...

Great find SO. I was looking for a photo like this that showed the ore face. The thing that convinces me this is a mine, is that wherever the rock is exposed it has the appearance of blast marks. If you look at the top of the photo on the left, you can see how they've used explosives to shear off the rock face and then mine the pulverised rock. If you compare that to the high res versions of the photo on the right, you'll see the same markings on the rock face.

Check this link to Giant's Causeway in Ireland. For those that don't know, this is a natural rock formation in Ireland consisting of over 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns.

Giants Causeway

I mention it because it highlights the complexity of natural occurring formations given the right environment and chemical elements. Had we seen this on the moon, we would all be peeing ourselves with the find, convinced that it must be the creation of an intelligence.

As good as these moon photos are (and the more the better), we are still making leaps of faith as to what fairly innocent looking rock formations might be.

The other thing I am struggling with is the fact that if it were a mining operation, surely it would be a human one. I can't believe aliens would mine in the same way we do with similar equipment (if they need to mine at all).

What we need is an X-Prize thing where a private company lands on the moon and publishes the whole lot, video, images, the full story et al.

The public should dump NASA and look for global privatisation of space exploration.

Oh, and lastly, I have a hunch the moon was placed where it is. It serves way too many convenient positives on the Earth to balance it for it to be a coincidence.

[edit on 19/9/06 by Prote]

Originally posted by Xar Ke Zeth
I'd say since those features can be entirely natural,

Indeed they can be. We've certainly seen plenty of natural formations that fool our mind into thinking they're something familiar.

On the other hand...

Evidence of a mining operation is hardly something "familiar" in which our mind can play tricks on us -- such as faces in clouds. And while the violence of impact could certainly cause all manner of unpredictable shapes and formations... this particular shape and formation has a number of striking similarities to surface mining... enough similarities to cause the arm-chair speculation we're seeing in this thread.

Perhaps the biggest single item that might disprove a mining operation is the biggest single item, the scale. The rim of the crater (where we see what looks like a possible strip mine) is over 10,000 feet in height... certainly an enormous surface mine if that's what this is.

However (there's too many "howevers"), we can also imagine that such large-scale mining is much easier in the moon's gravity.

Finally some tangible photo evidence that there are not only other alien species throughout the universe, but that they are very similar to ourselves and our aspirations... eh, maybe that's a bad thing lmao

Finally some tangible photo evidence that there are not only other alien species throughout the universe, but that they are very similar to ourselves and our aspirations

These photos merit consideration and analysis, but in no way constitute a smoking gun.

If there were a big shovel in the moon photo I might believe it. I just can't see a mine in those pictures. A slight resemblance, yes; a mine, sorry.....

Is it me or...

does that look exactly like a strip mining operation?

It's just you!

Am I crazy?

Yes!

These are IMPACT TERRACES and purely a natural result of crater formation at the time of impact.

These sources (with photos and diagrams) should get you started:

Crater Forms

Lunar Impact Crater Geology and Structure

Iowa's Manson Impact Structure

Find me one of those pics WITHOUT an impact crater and you might get my attention.


[edit on 19-9-2006 by loam]

Anxiety Disorder..

I feel I must point two things out.

1. You're looking at circular craters. No one is saying all craters are mining operations. To dispute the thread, you need to dispute the area we're looking at.

2. Those aren't actual photographs. You're using a program that generates a 3D image map. I think that almost ruins it's suitability for this kind of research. Minor details in the image (like the ones we're looking for) are going to be distorted.

Just imo.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
I think there may be an interesting probability that we are looking at an ancient strip mine site... and not one used by humans.

okie dokie mr skeptic (just kidding)...

Originally posted by loam
Find me one of those pics WITHOUT an impact crater and you might get my attention.

This is all pure arm-chair speculation based on what are arguably some very interesting attributes that seem to have been overlooked while searching for minute oddities.

Also, as mentioned somewhere in this or the other thread, it's feasible that the most likely place for a mining operation would indeed be at an impact crater.
1) Whatever is under the surface will be closer to the surface
2) Whatever was in the meteor is likely accessible there
3) Whatever was formed by the heat of impact is accessible there

I would think mines elsewhere would yield rather mundane materials.



Now... that being said...



I think there is just as much evidence that these formations could be natural as there is for some other "fantastic" explanation. In the absence of conclusive evidence to support a fantastic claim, we need consider the claim unfounded for the time being. Which is why this thread was moved to Skunk Works for a more interesting free-for-all speculation on what we have here.

If it gets better.. can we move it back?

I think we're definitely onto something here.

[edit on 19/9/06 by SteveR]

If it get's better, we'll link to it with a big, bold giant headline at the top of every page.

Deal?

Originally posted by Rockpuck
Nice job on the mine pics..
If America had the ability to mine on the Moon before we even got there.. where did the technology come from, why are there no bases there?

Well the whole civilian Space program is just a cover for NASA's primarily military mission so don't think of the milestones in that program as some kind of schedule of what was in fact possible at the time. Well if America is not there now it's pretty obvious they got kicked off by someone ( NOT something imo) as you do not give up the high ground without a good fight....

Why have we stopped going? If in 1966 we could mine on the moon, why are we not going to Mars anytime soon?

Well why is a good question but it clearly has nothing to do with technological considerations or cost as the money is being wasted on things far less important and uninteresting ( welfare for the rich) than exploring other planets with manned programs.

Stellar