Death on Mars
Unfortunately, people often fall for charlatans. The latest is John Brandenburg, author of Death on Mars. By taking Brandenburg seriously, members of the paracast looked ignorant and gullible. His PhD belies a work which flies in the face of science.
Brandenburg would have us believe Mars had an indigenous civilization, of which some evidence survives, including the "Face." Supposedly, this civilization succumbed to predatory spacefarers. Brandenburg claims aliens nuked the Red Planet. They allegedly caused two nuclear explosions, one much larger than the other. As proof of his scenario, the author points to Xenon 129 in the Martian atmosphere. Xenon 129, he asserts, could only have resulted from nuclear blasts. Earthmen never detonated n-bombs on Mars, so aliens must've done it.
None of Brandenburg's claims are credible. No serious Mars scientist takes the "Face" seriously, nor any of the other putative artifacts. Years ago, better imagery of the "face" clearly indicated a natural feature. The artifact interpretation is not only unconvincing but impossible to reconcile with Martian history.
Contrary to one widespread view, flowing water does not indicate Mars was once habitable. That's fallacious. For billions of years, Mars has been almost constantly frozen. Circumchrysean and other outflow channels were ephemeral affairs, in no way indicative of "warm and wet" conditions. As Carr pointed out, channels could not only have formed under present climatic conditions but even required such conditions. Only thick permafrost plugs could've withstood all the artesian pressure, until they were broken by impacts or volcanic heating, releasing the water.
The Martian atmosphere was sufficiently dense to cause perceptible erosion only in the early, Noachian period c 4 billion years ago. Since then, the atmosphere has been extremely tenuous. Lack of much atmosphere ensures deadly bombardment by radiation, and temperatures plunging over 100 below every night. Conceivably life might've arisen, but it could hardly have evolved to an advanced state on the surface. Belief in a Martian civilization comparable to that of ancient Egypt is patently absurd.
As for the Xenon 129, it may have been of natural origin.
Brandenburg believes he's found the answer to the Fermi paradox--the alleged lack of evidence for alien life despite the high probability of its existence. Interplanetary nuclear warfare has sterilized the Universe. This is absurd. Alien visitors are here, but shun open contact.
Brandenburg would have us believe Mars had an indigenous civilization, of which some evidence survives, including the "Face." Supposedly, this civilization succumbed to predatory spacefarers. Brandenburg claims aliens nuked the Red Planet. They allegedly caused two nuclear explosions, one much larger than the other. As proof of his scenario, the author points to Xenon 129 in the Martian atmosphere. Xenon 129, he asserts, could only have resulted from nuclear blasts. Earthmen never detonated n-bombs on Mars, so aliens must've done it.
None of Brandenburg's claims are credible. No serious Mars scientist takes the "Face" seriously, nor any of the other putative artifacts. Years ago, better imagery of the "face" clearly indicated a natural feature. The artifact interpretation is not only unconvincing but impossible to reconcile with Martian history.
Contrary to one widespread view, flowing water does not indicate Mars was once habitable. That's fallacious. For billions of years, Mars has been almost constantly frozen. Circumchrysean and other outflow channels were ephemeral affairs, in no way indicative of "warm and wet" conditions. As Carr pointed out, channels could not only have formed under present climatic conditions but even required such conditions. Only thick permafrost plugs could've withstood all the artesian pressure, until they were broken by impacts or volcanic heating, releasing the water.
The Martian atmosphere was sufficiently dense to cause perceptible erosion only in the early, Noachian period c 4 billion years ago. Since then, the atmosphere has been extremely tenuous. Lack of much atmosphere ensures deadly bombardment by radiation, and temperatures plunging over 100 below every night. Conceivably life might've arisen, but it could hardly have evolved to an advanced state on the surface. Belief in a Martian civilization comparable to that of ancient Egypt is patently absurd.
As for the Xenon 129, it may have been of natural origin.
Brandenburg believes he's found the answer to the Fermi paradox--the alleged lack of evidence for alien life despite the high probability of its existence. Interplanetary nuclear warfare has sterilized the Universe. This is absurd. Alien visitors are here, but shun open contact.
posted by starman at 8:19 AM
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