From Martian crabs to strange lights. From  Bigfoot sightings to complex patterns,  

in this video we re going to  bring you the very best of Martian  

anomalies. This is our biggest  and most anticipated video ever,  

so let s get right into it. This video does not attempt to  

either debunk or lend credence to any specific  theories, we are simply presenting the facts.  

This image, captured in 2019 by the Curiosity  rover, shows a bright light on the Martian  

horizon. This picture fuelled theories of  alien craft flying in the skies of Mars.  

Other images taken immediately before and after do  not contain this light, therefore whatever caused  

this anomaly must have been incredibly fast. It s not the first time we ve seen something of  

this nature. In 2014 the Curiosity rover captured  this image of another striking light anomaly.  

This one really got the internet into a stir,  with theories ranging from an alien hut to an  

attempt at first contact. However, lights like  this are seen on a regular basis by the NASA team,  

and do have a more plausible explanation. Justin Maki, NASA team leader for Curiosity  

s Nav-cam said, quote: In the thousands of images we ve  

received from Curiosity, we see ones with bright  spots nearly every week. These can be caused by  

cosmic-ray hits or sunlight glinting from rock  surfaces, as the most likely explanations.  

One of the most famous Martian anomalies is  the face on Mars. Captured in 1976 by NASA s  

Viking-1 orbiter, it provided decades  of suspense and wild theories before  

more detailed images could be taken to put the  matter to bed in 2001. In this image, you can  

see it is simply a feature of the landscape,  with almost no resemblance to a face.  

So why do we clearly see a face in the 1976 image?  This is down to a phenomenon called pareidolia,  

where humans are biologically programmed to look  for patterns in random data. It s the reason  

we see faces in clouds and was a useful thing  for our ancestors to survive in the wild.  

There are many other examples of anomalies on Mars  that are suspected to be a result of pareidolia,  

such as this so-called human thigh bone . In 2017, Curiosity snapped this picture,  

which some have pointed out contains  what looks like a cannonball.  

Again, pareidolia is likely at play. This so-called cannonball is only a quarter inch,  

or 5 millimetres in size. It is  actually a pebble made from haematite,  

a substance commonly found on Mars as  seen in this older image from Opportunity.  

What is interesting however, is that  the presence of haematite signals an  

abundance of water in the ancient past. This 2007 panorama taken by the Spirit rover  

was released with little to  no attention from the public.  

That is until a UFO website ran a story about how  a Bigfoot could be seen in the lower left corner.  

Can you spot it? Let s take a closer look. This strange feature has been described as a  

Bigfoot or a female statue. However,  given the amount of rocks on Mars,  

there are plenty of opportunities for  pareidolia to work it s magic.  

In 2015, the Curiosity rover took this image  near Mount Sharp, the Martian mountain it  

still currently climbs to this day. In the image a strange rock formation can  

be seen protruding from the ground, shaped into  what looks like a spoon. What s interesting about  

this one in particular is that on Mars, due  to a lower gravity and less dense atmosphere,  

rock formations can be created that we  would likely never see on Earth.  

This formation was probably created  over millions of years by the wind,  

University claimed that life has existed  and continues to exist on Mars today.  

By examining images from the NASA rovers,  the Entomology Professor said he has seen  

traits resembling insects on Earth as  seen in these rather grainy images.  

Unfortunately, this is most likely yet another  example of Pareidolia. An Entomology Professor  

is more likely to see insects than anyone else,  just as Bigfoot believers are more likely to  

spot a Bigfoot. Almost no conclusions can be  drawn from these images. We have an abundance  

of clear images from the rovers and haven t  seen any detailed images of insects yet.  

Now moving away from the  pareidolia-explained images  

we can get to the really interesting stuff. These strange swirling patterns have been seen  

in the Athabasca Valles area of Mars,  which is thought to have been created by  

catastrophic flooding in the past. More than  200 of these anomalies have been found, with  

more expected to be found in other regions. If you re thinking that these patterns could be  

fossilised remains of alien life, then  think again, as these swirls are around  

100 feet in diameter, or over 30 metres. Unfortunately, these patterns are not a sign of  

any alien life, they are simply a phenomenon  known as lava coils. They can be found on Earth,  

on Hawaii s Big Island. The only difference  is the size. On Earth these are only around  

1 foot in diameter, much smaller  than their Martian equivalents.  

In 2017, a NASA orbiter captured this image of  the southern polar region of Mars. The area has  

since been nicknamed Swiss Cheese Territory and it  has left scientists baffled due to the large pit  

on the right. The leading ideas are that it  could have been caused by a rogue space rock  

or a collapse has happened at the surface.  Both of these commonly occur on Mars.  

However, other people have different ideas;  

from a star wars monster to a  secret underground base.  

One of the most interesting anomalies  on Mars is the mystery of methane.  

The Curiosity rover discovered that methane  detections follow a seasonal pattern,  

spiking in the late Martian summer. As soon as this methane is seemingly produced,  

it is then consumed by a  currently unknown process.  

There are 2 possible explanations here; one  is biological and the other is geological.  

These variations could be explained by colonies  of methane producing and methane consuming  

micro-organisms living below the surface of Mars.  Below the surface could host the right pressures  

and temperatures to sustain such life. The other explanations are geological in nature,  

ranging from methane trapped under the  surface which is released periodically,  

to asteroids and volcanoes. None of these theories have been proven,  

and it will be a long wait until we can get more  definitive answers. The Perseverance rover doesn t  

have a methane detector on board, but it does have  the capability to take samples of the surface.  

These samples can be returned to Earth  in the future and studied up close.  

This image from Curiosity in 2015 shows what  at first appears to be a pyramid structure.  

However, when we zoom out  and correct the rotation,  

you can see the wider context of the image. If an alien race wanted to build a pyramid, it s  

probably not a good idea build it on a hill, and  they could aim to make it a little bigger.  

On December 26th, 2013, the Opportunity rover  took this image before going on a short drive.  

On January 8th 2014, just twelve Martian days  later, the Opportunity rover returned to the site,  

only to find that a rock had appeared. The  rock left scientists baffled. With it s bright  

appearance and seemingly autonomous capabilities,  it was of great intrigue to the team at NASA.  

The most probable explanation  is that the rock was dislodged  

during Opportunity s short drive. The brighter  and darker parts of the rock would seem to support  

this theory, with the brighter part having  been freshly exposed to the environment.  

This image, taken by the Mars Express Orbiter,  shows a giant elongated cloud. This cloud has  

been spotted many times before and only  seems to appear in the Martian spring.  

Unfortunately, it s not some primitive alien  smoke signal. Many people believed it was the  

result of a huge eruption on Mars, but we now  know it is simply a result of the way the wind  

sweeps the landscape of that area, forcing the  air upwards to create this elongated cloud.  

In this image is probably the most infamous  Martian anomaly. Can you spot it?  

This is the case of the Martian crab. Now, you ve probably seen this image  

circulating on social media. The apparent  close-up appears to show a very well defined  

and undeniable crab shape. However,  this is the result of Photoshop.  

When we take the original NASA image and  zoom in, the detail is not nearly as clear,  

and no real conclusions can be  made as to what the object is.  

It could also be a JPEG artefact from the  compression of the image. Because we only receive  

small amounts of data back from Mars at any one  time, the rovers are programmed to compress any  

images before transmitting them back to Earth. When an image is compressed, it is divided up into  

separate 8-by-8 pixel squares, all compressed  separately, giving the distinctive grid-like  

pattern. If we blow the image up into these  squares, this is what we actually received.  

As previously mentioned, pareidolia could be at  work here, or we could actually be looking at the  

first image of alien life. Either way, we simply  cannot tell from the quality of this image.  

If NASA had found real proof of alien life on  Mars, they would be the first to shout it out.  

Not everything can be dismissed as pareidolia, but  with the amount of images collected by the rovers,  

and the amount of rocks on Mars, it is  only a matter of time before someone  

claims they have seen the Elderfox  logo. If you spot it, let us know!  

Here s some we found while making  the video, just for fun!  

While the NASA rovers are anomaly detecting  machines, they are also great explorers and  

each has a story to tell. The spirit rover  survived for over 6 years and ultimately became  

trapped in a sand dune, sending one last message  to NASA before going offline forever.  

Click here to see what else  the Spirit rover found on Mars,  

and to see the incredible journey in full. Thanks for watching Elderfox. Remember to  

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