We're ****ed

[Warped Dan]

http://www.space.com/15244-monolith-mars-2001-space-odyssey.html

Amateur stargazers have discovered an intriguing object jutting out from the surface of Mars. The seemingly perfectly rectangular, upright structure, found in NASA images of the Red Planet, bears a striking resemblance to the monoliths planted on Earth and the moon by aliens in the classic sci-fi film "2001: A Space Odyssey."
The object in question was first spotted several years ago after being photographed by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a NASA space probe; every so often, it garners renewed interest on the Internet. But is it unnatural — a beacon erected by aliens for mysterious reasons, and even more mysteriously paralleled in the imaginations of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, creators of "2001"? Or is this rock the work of nature?

According to Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, who processes many of the images taken during NASA's Mars missions, the object in question is no more than a roughly rectangular boulder.

The HiRISE camera that photographed it has a resolution of approximately 1 foot (30 centimeters) per pixel — impressive considering the 180-mile (300-kilometer) altitude from which it photographs the Martian surface, but not quite sharp enough to capture the cragginess of a mid-size boulder. "When your resolution is too low to fully resolve an object, it tends to look rectangular because the pixels in the image are squares. Any curve will look like a series of straight lines if you reduce your resolution enough," Hill told Life's Little Mysteries.

The location of the boulder at the bottom of a cliff near many other boulders suggests it broke off the cliff and tumbled to its current spot sometime in the distant past, Hill said. Such a perilous location is itself an argument against deliberate placement by aliens: "If I was going to build a monolith somewhere, that's the last place I would put it!" he said. "The debris falling from the cliff would cover it up pretty quickly, on geologic timescales." [Vote: Do You Believe in Life on Mars?]
Hill added that the height of the boulder is being exaggerated in the photo by a low sun angle. Photographed when the sun was near the horizon, the boulder casts an especially long shadow.
The ufologists aren't necessarily wrong in calling it a monolith — the word simply translates from Latin as "one stone." But this monolith isn't the masonry of Martians.

 

[NeptuneUK]

Prothean beacon!

+

=

 

[bobtheskull]

That's just..... well.... awesome...

 

[<RJMC>]

I call the tip of a ancient alien skyscraper

 

[Stylo]

It's the black marker.

Necromorphs Ensue

 

[Stigmata]

According to Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, who processes many of the images taken during NASA's Mars missions, the object in question is no more than a roughly rectangular boulder.

The HiRISE camera that photographed it has a resolution of approximately 1 foot (30 centimeters) per pixel — impressive considering the 180-mile (300-kilometer) altitude from which it photographs the Martian surface, but not quite sharp enough to capture the cragginess of a mid-size boulder. "When your resolution is too low to fully resolve an object, it tends to look rectangular because the pixels in the image are squares. Any curve will look like a series of straight lines if you reduce your resolution enough," Hill told Life's Little Mysteries.

A reasonable rationalisation, except for the fact that the top of the monolith intersects with pixel lines at about 35 degrees.

 

[Raziaar]

Aliens. Aliens everywhere.

 

[Stylo]

 

[Tyguy]

 

[sinkoman]

 

[Stigmata]

Aliens. Aliens everywhere.

That boulder is bullshit. **** that boulder. It was totally aliens.

 

[JUL3]

Bonkers.

It's clearly the Citadel from Half-Life.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Computerbox, enhance grid E5 to G17.

I knew it.

 

[Stigmata]

I submit that you will all be unable to unsee what I've poorly sketched out in Paint, conclusively proving the existence of aliens:

Spoiler

 

[mechanicallizard]

Is that a sofa next to it?

 

[Stigmata]

No, it's a place of holy worship.

It could also be a cinema.

 

[Raziaar]

It's a Fishy Joe's.

 

[Stylo]

It's a MarsDonald's. Oh-huh.

 

[Remus]

LOL at all your comments.

 

[Warped Dan]

Why we're also ****ed:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/18/handmade-particle-accelerator-unveiled-at-milan-design-week-hig/

Handmade particle accelerator unveiled at Milan Design Week, Higgs-Boson a no-show

When it comes to particle science, it's not all about huge winding tunnels and god particles. Super/collider, a group that aims to promote science through eye-catching creative methods, teamed up with designer Patrick Stevenson-Keating to craft this relatively simple -- but working-- particle accelerator for Milan Design week. The setup involves several hand-blown bulbs, with a vacuum inside them allowing electrons to rocket from side to side, lit in a purple haze thanks to a phosphorous screen at one end. The whole thing is fashioned from the relatively commonplace gear you see above, although a how-to guide still remains unfortunately non-existent.

 

[Mr Stabby]

Why we're also ****ed:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/18/handmade-particle-accelerator-unveiled-at-milan-design-week-hig/

Handmade particle accelerator unveiled at Milan Design Week, Higgs-Boson a no-show

There is one of those in the back of every CRT Television, not really a particle accelerator just an electron emitter.