It's the picture that ET believers have been waiting for - and the one that shows there could be life on Mars.
Make up your own mind The image, taken by Nasa's Mars Explorer Spirit, seems to show a figure on the surface of the red planet. However the more sceptical have decided that it is just a rock.
click to Enlarge
Make up your own mind The image, taken by Nasa's Mars Explorer Spirit, seems to show a figure on the surface of the red planet. However the more sceptical have decided that it is just a rock.
click to Enlarge
A magnified version of the picture, posted on the internet, appears to some to show what resembles a human form among a crop of rocks.
While some bloggers have dismissed the image as a trick of light, others say it is evidence of an alien presence.
While some bloggers have dismissed the image as a trick of light, others say it is evidence of an alien presence.
The image is a recent Nasa posting of the Spirit's landing in 2004.
When the robotic rover set down on 24 January 2004, its images disappointed space-watchers hoping for signs of extraterrestrial life.
Now they appear convinced that this image provides the evidence they have been trawling Nasa's photo files for.
The blown-up image seems to resemble a figure striding among the Martian rocks.
The internet has been abuzz with postings offering theories.
Now they appear convinced that this image provides the evidence they have been trawling Nasa's photo files for.
The blown-up image seems to resemble a figure striding among the Martian rocks.
The internet has been abuzz with postings offering theories.
Copenhagen's mermaid: Evidence of Martian settlers?
One said it was a garden gnome, another that it was the Virgin Mary.
A third suggested Bigfoot, the hairy bipedal mountain beast that appears in various guises in a number of legends around the world.
But the consensus seemed to be that it bore a striking resemblance to the Little Mermaid statue in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
Poster "Madurobob" said it was a statue "obviously built by an ancient civilisation that later departed Mars and settled Denmark".
Badastronomy.com tried to apply some perspective: "A man? It's a tiny rock only a few inches high. It's only a few feet from the rover!"
Experts say that if the planet once had surface water, there was the potential to support life.
Analysis of soil showed it contained 90% silica - a concentration only likely to have formed when water is present.
Analysis of soil showed it contained 90% silica - a concentration only likely to have formed when water is present.
