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386 Suppressed Inventions and Other Discoveries
better telescopic photographs of the Moon 240,000 miles away, than those
camera pictures taken only a few thousand miles from Mars. An important
point to realize is that the probes carried cameras, not telescopes.
Even NASA admitted that the cameras aboard the Mariners could not
have provided evidence of a Martian civilization from their photographic
distance. However, the publicly-released photos were quickly interpreted
as disproving the canal controversy.
What are space photographs in reality The "picture" is relayed back to
Earth in the form of numerous dots, contained within a radio signal. The
picture has to be reconstructed from this electronic message, by computer
imaging each dot into a shade of gray. The first image processing is
considered the raw picture, and is basically a washed-out, blurry gradation
of gray. Then the imaging team can reassign the gray levels by computer,
in order to better distinguish any identifiable spots or features on the raw
picture. A slightly improved image is given to the public.
American astronauts have said that the only visible man-made construction
on Earth that they could see from their high orbit around our planet was
the Great Wall of China. If there were a Great Wall on Mars and it turned
up on one of the photographs, the space agency could still release the picture,
but without the slightest trace of a wall. With computer imaging, it is
easy to fade out features and erase contrast, to the point of an unidentifiable
gray blotch. By starting with the original raw, washed-out picture, it is only
a matter of re-assigning the gray levels so that the wall never appears during
processing. On the other hand, if another photograph shows a natural
landmark or feature, that picture can be electronically sharpened and
focused to show great detail. We have reached a new state of the art: we can
increase or decrease picture quality by subtle electronic brushing.
Now to clarify the situation regarding the canal evidence first discovered
by Schiaparelli and Lowell through their telescopic studies. It was
only "laid to rest" because authorities withheld official confirmation.
Mariner 4 did photograph some straight-line canals, and this was finally
admitted some time later by Dr. William Pickering, the head of Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. 2 (JPL conducts all the planetary projects for
NASA.) Dr. Clyde Tombaugh, the scientist who discovered Pluto, also
confirmed that the canals were photographed by the 1965 probe. But officially,
this type of evidence has never been released. The public was
shown computer-enhanced photographs, but the detailed originals were in
the hands of the authorities. And if the canals were filmed by that first
probe, it is a certainty that they were filmed by later Mariner and Viking
probes, yet that information has always been withheld. We'll discuss the
censoring aspect relative to the later space missions thoroughly, but first
let's continue with the telescopic record.