Martian Sighting? Strange Pics From Mars Rover Explained

Over the last couple days, UFO enthusiasts have rallied behind pictures of four orbs that were taken by NASA's rover "Curiosity" on Mars. But as many of these UFO stories often come to pass, a reasonable explanation has been cited and it could be one that has even caused problems for photographers here on Earth. It's called "dead pixels."

The Washington Post reported the group Alien Disclosure Group believed that photos beamed back from Curiosity earlier this week could possibly have captured four flying saucers. They put together this video with all the image and it enhanced with different filters:

Gizmodo describes out what is being seen here:

They are called dead pixels, and many cameras have them (the sensor in my Canon DSLR has a couple). Usually you don't see them because they get mixed with the noise of Earth's atmosphere. In this case, against a perfectly clear sky in the thin atmosphere of Mars, it's easy to spot them if you look close enough. And, if you sharpen them, they will appear to have volume. You can do the same thing in Photoshop and see how that works.

The Huffington Post has video analyst Marc Dantonio, who has studied UFO videos and also worked on government projects needing special effects, seconding Gizmodo's conclusion on the specks.

"After watching the video, it is actually quite clear that these are one-pixel sized image anomalies," Dantonio said to the Huffington Post. "All CCD [cameras] have them, and in a bland atmosphere like that at Mars, they would be very obvious as opposed to an active atmosphere like Earth, where they could end up hidden for a long time before anyone noticed them."

Still, with a mysterious blast being seen shortly after Curiosity touched down and this latest excitement over flying saucers that appear to be a defect in the camera itself, Gizmodo points out that with many UFO enthusiasts going through images from the rover with fine-tooth comb, this will likely not be the last time we hear of Martian sightings.

As a bonus, here's another video uploaded by the Alien Disclosure Group which in the description states it shows "a possible ancient finger, a dome shaped object, a shoe or sandal and a possible martian creature":

Related:

• Mars Rover Wrap-Up: The Most Interesting Facts and Photos From ‘Curiosity’ This Week
• ‘We’re Safe on Mars’: Rover ‘Curiosity’ Touches Down on Red Planet (See the First Pictures!)
• Meet the Girl Who Got to Name the Mars Rover ‘Curiosity’

(H/T: Daily Mail)