A Demonstration of How NASA Makes and Fakes 'Lunar Craters' and Martian 'Surfaces'. Home

A quick introduction to one of the thumbsuck aspects of planetary science. You may not know this, but one of the methods for working out how old an area of a planet is - is by counting the numbers of craters. (The theory being that the older an area is - the more craters it has - from meteorite strikes and suchlike over tens of thousands or millions of years.)

It's a straightforward and seemingly sensible idea - provided no one fakes any craters to 'age' an area artificially in the minds of earth-bound scientists.

There are a number of reasons why someone would 'fake' craters in photographs - ranging from using the crater to hide the reality of the landscape (or perhaps structure on the landscape) - through to reinforcing an incorrect scientific view of the age and origins of the planet being studied.

Having given you a simplistic (but accurate) background to the use of the existence of craters in astronomical photographs and analysis - let me show you how NASA fakes them.

First:

NASA begins with an anomalous object or two that they want to hide.

And draws circular shapes on them, or incorporates the objects into their 'circular' shape.

The 'shine' is clearly visible here from the added three circles.

(Note the ever present coils and 'snakelike' shapes around the objects).

Next - NASA begins to add 'noise' to the picture, smearing and hiding the shapes of both the snakelike things, and whatever those structures are that they're assembled around.

More noise is added, providing a thickness and texture to the false mask over the actual scene.

The 'noise' is now blurred slightly, abruptly creating a 'surface' - which changes the angle of what the scene appears to be being viewed from, as well as further hiding the reality.

The final 'surface' is thickened - although it's showing the fake black markings where NASA wanted 'craters' and 'textures'.

The change in depth and perspective is even more visible now.

A casual viewer wouldn't believe that there's 'depth' and detail below this surface.

The final step, admittedly breathtaking in its simplicity - is to simply reverse (invert) the picture - making a completely believable 'Lunar Landscape With Craters'.

And at right, suitably dimmed and softened - is a completely fake non-existent set of craters, ready for insertion into a NASA photograph.

There is a 'shine' to the whitish sections of the surface - and there's hidden color bleeding through - but I'm not an expert and so probably missed a few layers of lowering contrast or other layering methods to hide the scene)

But this is a simplified and basic version of the method that NASA use for most of its planetary photographs. It's as easy to make a 'lunar' landscape - as it is to make a 'Martian' landscape.

They're also taking advantage of various optical illusions - as you saw from the way the crater - complete with shadow, seemed to just 'appear' when reversed.

 

An Example Of Crater-Faking from Mars

 

You're NASA - and you have a collection of alien structures and shapes to hide. We'll start with a chaotic close view of said alien shapes and structures.(A detail from E1000546 )

What you are seeing appear to be alien structures of some kind - perhaps beehive in shape. All surfaces are coated with shapes.

And NASA have prepared the picture with dark marks and two clearly visible shining 'craters-to-be'

Here's a view of the shapes covering the structures.

Remember we're looking at this detail from an official picture, and are peering through multiple layers of deliberate masks and filters.

So this 'defocused' segment in the frame is the nearest one can get to clarity.

Here's a close look at the tops of the structures.

We can see that there is 'real' shadow as well as the very obvious fake shadows that NASA have added, in preparation for making a simple 'texture' in an otherwise empty landscape.

Note how the fake 'crater' and markings appear to float above the scene, as we rise up through the NASA-added layers.

We arrive at a layer of color, which NASA is using to further smudge the detail (or else this is partly the actual color of the scene).

The crater still seems to 'float' above the scene..

And finally we're left with a not particularly interesting bit of landscape texture.

Just a small part of an otherwise unremarkable satellite photograph, of Mars.

And as it looks tucked away amidst a larger landscape.

Just one of thousands of examples of quiet fraud by NASA, passing by unnoticed.

Lost amidst the detail of a supposedly 'empty' world.

So much for E1000546

 

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