The conspiracy theories begin: What was the mystery blotch that appears on Mars rover photo ...

Daily Mail UK ^ | 08-09-2012 | James Nye

[Red Badger]

Conspiracy theorists have worked themselves up into a lather over a mysterious blotch visible in the first black and white photographs taken from NASA's new Curiosity rover as it landed on Mars.

The faint but distinctive dot which can be seen on the horizon of the Red Planet was taken by a device on the $2.5 billion robot called its Hazcam and relayed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter back to Earth.

However, two hours later when the satellite made another pass over Curiosity, the rover sent another batch of images that revealed that the blotch had eerily disappeared.

[apillar]

It's a giant sandworm poking it's head out of the ground to see what all the commotion was about.

[Gaffer]

Red effing ink from an agency so politically raped by liberal ideology it isn’t funny. This crap is useless at this point in this turning point of our history.

[arderkrag]

It’s the remnants of that “missile” from last year that managed to miss a whole continent...

[ZX12R]

Obviously it was paranormal mars dust.

[Red Badger]

Then all that red stuff is SPICE????.........hmmmm............

[Beowulf9]

[dartuser]

“Oops, my bad ... forgot to take the lens cap off.”

[arrogantsob]

That damn Marvin up to his old tricks.

[Bender2]

Gadzooks! That mystery blotch is Sheila Jackson Lee's elbow... as she is tearing down the American Flag she said Neil Armstrong put up when Apollo 11 landed there in 1969.

[dfwgator]

[Red Badger]

I could have been a ‘Spice Blow’ caught on camera...........

[bkepley]

LOOK!!! THEY’VE TAKEN COMMENT #1!!! THIS IS IMPOR

[mnehring]

The fact that people are making conspiracies about a blotch is a sad reflection oh the mental state of society.

[Bender2]

Whoa! It says here it can only be a space... herpe!

[freedumb2003]

Clearly it is a Starbucks.

Now the Martians will be up all night.

[Truth29]

"It's a giant sandworm poking it's head out of the ground to see what all the commotion was about."

Well, we could use some of the spice to revived the manned space program.

[dfwgator]

I think that was the rest of this guy's hair.

[cuban leaf]

http://www.nationalledger.com/news-tech/several-photos-show-woman-on-m-235139.shtml#.UCQF86PiF9w

[JohnBrowdie]

[Iron Munro]

It’s a moderator removing comment #1 so we can’t post a response.

[Gator113]

It’s a Martian flash mob.

[bigheadfred]

Never a dull moment. Wait...what?

[1_Rain_Drop]

It was TOTUS

[gov_bean_ counter]

Classic!!!

LOL.

[apillar]

It’s a moderator removing comment #1 so we can’t post a response.

OMG! The Free Republic Moderators are even involved in the giant martian sandworm conspiracy! Get your tinfoil hats on and head for the hills, the aliens are among us!

[apillar]

I’m betting that the crazy haired guy from Ancient Aliens is going to get a two hour special out of that one blurry picture.

[treetopsandroofs]

It’s OBVIOUSLY just pixelation that many freepers declared without doubt to be the case a few months ago when a photo surfaced of a “Mars base station”.

[corkoman]

[bigheadfred]

Things being things and if the truth is stranger than fiction I wouldna be surprised to find out the mods ARE giant Martian sandworms.

[fuente]

You’re may-king me veary veary ang-gary

[ZX12R]

Yikes! Martian defenses!

[Jack Hammer]

Okay, okay - I’m sorry already!

I was just buzzing around in my fusion powered intergalactic runabaout, and I saw this thing coming down...

Honestly, I didn’t mean to ruin anyone’s photographs.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Ice Pirates! Great movie.

[Azeem]

It's a Decepticon of course.

[Azeem]

Ice Pirates! Great movie.

This be my bad chariot!

[Calvin Locke]

Ask him:

"Live video discussion: Meet 'Mohawk Guy' today at 2 p.m."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/08/nasas-mohawk-guy-becomes-face-of-mars-mission-google-hangout.html

(I'm assuming today, PDT...)

[Forward the Light Brigade]

Dust cloud—or maybe a Martian Ghost!

[Calvin Locke]

From the article, I'm going to go with pre and post clear lens cap removal.

When I went through my photography phase, one tip was to always leave on a 1A sky filter to protect the lens.

Perhaps NASA should have used 1A filter as a lens cap, rather than something plastic?

Yeah, I know, weight...

[VRWC For Truth]

Rabbit sh*t

[Cyman]

It was Marvin’s air biscuit

[GraceG]

Data Not Found, I think it is definately a conspiracy.

I'm Pointing a finger directly at this so-called mythical

"James Robinston Anderson Johnston" who supposedly owns the FreeRepublic Meta-Social Media Cyber-Brain Portal Site.

[SevenofNine]

OMG Marvin the Martian I knew he show up on this thread ROFL

HEY DUDE what upzzz

[SevenofNine]

OMG Marvin the Martian I knew he show up on this thread ROFL

HEY DUDE what upzzz

[BulletBobCo]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16042.html
Nasa is saying that the anomoly could be the dust cloud of the sky crane crashing.

[BulletBobCo]

Make that anomoly an anomaly.

[Cyber Liberty]

[HereInTheHeartland]

“The fact that people are making conspiracies about a blotch is a sad reflection oh the mental state of society.”

Bread and circuses for the mentally pliable part of the population.