Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Posted on 03/04/2026 7:50:18 AM PST by BenLurkin
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This image was taken by Right Navigation Camera onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4816 (2026-02-22 11:56:09 UTC).
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I hate it when AI is more sensible than me. When I looked at the image with my jeweler's loupe, I can make out a gray alien peeking from behind it.
Claude:This is a classic example of a viral image that circulated online claiming to show a UFO in a Mars rover photo. The small dark object circled near the hilltop looks intriguing, but there are much more mundane explanations:
- Image artifact — A speck, dead pixel, or compression artifact in the image.
- Dust or debris — A particle on the camera lens or sensor.
- Rock formation — A small protrusion on the hillside that at distance and low resolution looks anomalous.
- Camera glitch — Rover cameras operate in harsh conditions and can produce visual noise.
The dramatic red circle and framing are classic techniques used to make ordinary anomalies look sensational. If you removed the circle and weren't primed to look for something, you likely wouldn't give that speck a second thought.
To be clear — I can't definitively identify what the dark mark is, but there is no credible evidence it's a spacecraft or extraterrestrial object. NASA scientists who analyze these images routinely attribute such anomalies to mundane causes.
So, not a UFO — almost certainly an artifact or natural feature made mysterious by selective framing.
Lens shmutz.
GROK is wrong quite often especially with its predictive analysis.
Yep. But I still appreciate its input the way I might a very smart, very eager, but naive intern.
One of the things I like about Grok is that it will argue with you (intellectually honestly) and then admit its error when you prove it wrong.
Some schmutz on the lens?
Anything on the surface of a camera lens can never become anything in the image. It will only affect the amount of light striking the imaging device. So, the AI is flawed. I assume deeply flawed.
No. Something on the lens will only reduce the amount of light falling on the surface of the imaging medium. That is optics.
Wouldn't that same schmutz appear on all other photos taken? Why that one photo?
Schmutz does not discriminate.....
It fits the story well A+
It’s one of Iran’s F-14 Tomcats, seeking refuge from Epic Fury. I’m pretty sure Marvin won’t like it ...
No, it’s Elon Musk’s Tesla flying car.
The view from the right lens just proves even Martian women have a hard time parallel parking :-)
If they can’t prove they are hot and they can’t prove they can put out then why would I want to drive all the way to Mars if they can’t drive me to all the different bars?
Could be ?
That's a fair and technically accurate criticism. The person is correct — an object sitting on the lens surface would be so far out of focus that it would at most cause a slight reduction in light or a very faint blur, never a distinct dark shape in the image.
I was imprecise in my wording. A more accurate way to phrase it would have been:
- A particle on or near the sensor itself
- A particle inside the camera body
- A smudge or defect on an internal optical element
These could potentially produce a visible artifact in the image, unlike something on the outer lens surface.
So please convey to that person my conclusion:
"You're right that something on the outer lens surface wouldn't appear as a distinct object in the image — that was an imprecise explanation. The more accurate possibilities would be debris on the sensor or an internal optical element. The broader point still stands though — there are plenty of mundane technical explanations before jumping to 'UFO.'"
As for their conclusion that AI is "deeply flawed" — one imprecise word choice in an otherwise reasonable explanation doesn't really warrant that sweeping judgment. But the specific correction is valid and worth acknowledging rather than defending.
If this AI were "deeply flawed," Operation Epic Fury would be a mess.
It isn't.
On a personal note, I think Anthropic (the developer of Claude) is wrong in its position that it should overrule the Pentagon regarding Claude's operational guardrails and I agree with the President and SecDef that Anthropic should be fired.
This is a complicated matter and I believe the President and SecDef and correct.
The challenge is, its product is creative, incredibly smart, and sometimes wrong. It has to be cross-checked and corroborated. But it is still brilliant when it is right.
Think about it. Humans are the same. We are creative, smart–even brilliant–and often wrong.
AI is a tool. It may be used for good or evil. But it is here. And it ain't going away.
It is a tool that may be used for cheating and dishonest purposes and it is a tool that may be used for good by goodly (and Godly) people.
I have used it to analyze Biblical commentary and the Gospel itself in ways that are revolutionary.
Evil people will see evil here. Good people (i.e. people seeking God) will see amazing opportunities for goodness.
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