I give up.
I really believe that the correct way to talk to people about astronomy is to assume that they’re intelligent and interested and move on from there. Yes, explain things simply, but you don’t have to talk as if your audience has the attention span of a stupid goldfish. There are times when I wonder, though.
This started as a joke. The images below, taken by Spirit, are supposed to show a ‘human like’ form.
They don’t. As Rob says it’s a rock. I haven’t had a chance to look at the papers, but I think this was in the Sun this morning. Fair enough - an amusing story. And then I notice it on BBC news online as once of the most emailed articles. BBC News online? Everyone’s favourite internet news source, right? What to expect from them? Perhaps an interesting article using the article as an excuse to write about Spirit’s journey? Or a reflective piece commenting on our human need to see faces everywhere, linking to the excellent Mars Express images of the old face on Mars? Oh no…Here’s their article (currently one of the most emailed) in full with my comments.
BBC : Mystery image of ‘life on Mars’
Chris : There is no mystery. It’s a rock.
BBC : An image of a mysterious shape on the surface of Mars, taken by Nasa spacecraft Spirit, has reignited the debate about life on the Red Planet. A magnified version of the picture, posted on the internet, appears to some to show what resembles a human form among a crop of rocks.
Chris : There is no mystery. It’s a rock. By ‘reignited the debate’ they mean ’some people on the internet get easily overexcited’.
BBC :While some bloggers have dismissed the image as a trick of light, others say it is evidence of an alien presence.
Chris : Is this supposed to be balanced reporting? It’s a rock.
BBC :The image is a recent Nasa posting of the Spirit’s landing in 2004.
Chris : Is this even English? I think the word ’site’ is missing. It’s still a rock, though.
Update : The image was taken on sol 1367, more than three (Earth) years after Spirit landed on Mars. So even if it were life and the BBC sent a reporter to do the interview, they’d be in the wrong place.
BBC :When the robotic rover set down on 24 January 2004, its images disappointed space-watchers hoping for signs of extraterrestrial life.
Chris : What? Who are they? Who expected Spirit to take pictures of ‘extraterrestrial life’? This is just rubbish - Spirit is a robot geologist, looking for rocks to study. What’s that you can see in the picture? Yes, a rock!
BBC :Now they appear convinced that this image provides the evidence they have been trawling Nasa’s photo files for.
Chris : I’m glad ‘they’re’ convinced. How many of them are there? Will the BBC be giving them airtime? Do their views outweigh everyone with common sense?
BBC :The blown-up image seems to resemble a figure striding among the Martian rocks.
Chris : As long as the figure is only a couple of centimeters high.
BBC :The internet has been abuzz with postings offering theories. One said it was a garden gnome, another that it was the Virgin Mary. A third suggested Bigfoot, the hairy bipedal mountain beast that appears in various guises in a number of legends around the world.
Chris : And that’s supposed to be good enough to make a news story, is it?
BBC :But the consensus seemed to be that it bore a striking resemblance to the Little Mermaid statue in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Poster “Madurobob” said it was a statue “obviously built by an ancient civilisation that later departed Mars and settled Denmark”.
Chris : The ‘internet’ as news source. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s article discussing where Elvis really is.
BBC :Badastronomy.com tried to apply some perspective: “A man? It’s a tiny rock only a few inches high. It’s only a few feet from the rover!”
Chris : And with that, we wake up and realise it was all a bad dream, right? I’m clinging to the hope that what they’re trying to do is write an amusing article, but somehow I doubt it. Every week there is at least one excellent press release from either Spirit and Opportunity, Mars Express or MRO. And this is what makes it onto the front page? Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps we get the journalism we deserve. Aggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh…..
Update : Weirdly, it’s not visible in the ’science and nature’ index at all, although it’s still on the most emailed section. Perhaps they’re ashamed of it?
on January 23rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I’m gettign slammed by this too: http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/01/21/speaking-of-dumb-mars-claims/
on January 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Yep - tried to look for that post to add a link but by the time your server had caught breath I’d posted this article.
on January 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
“Chris : The ‘internet’ as news source. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s article discussing where Elvis really is.”
On Mars sitting 0n a rock I’m guessing….!
Obviously the pioneering strive to discover more about the universe we live in and the stunning images sent back by the likes of Cassini, Messenger and New Horizons are not enough…. Nothing escapes the dumbing down of the Tabloids.
We know that sensationalism sells newspapers - but like you say the daft headline could have been used to reel people in to read about the real science.
It seems to have irked you somewhat! Never mind - rest assured tomorrow’s headline will be even worse!
on January 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
The thing I find particularly annoying regarding all this is that BBC News Online openly invite reader comments on this ridiculous non-story, but not on the interview with the CEO of STFC where he states that the UK physics and astronomy community has a “brighter future” when facing 25% cuts in research grants.
Curiously though, links to the latter story have now been removed from the main S&N page less than 24 hours after its posting…
on January 23rd, 2008 at 8:53 pm
[...] Enligt Nyheter från Populär astronomi gör flera svenska tidningar sitt bästa för att inbilla oss läsare att bilden skulle vara ett bevis för liv på Mars. Chris Lintott hävdar i sin blogg att BBC gör något liknande. Han tvivlar åtminstone på att de försökt skriva en skämtsam artikel. [...]
on January 23rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Actually I believe it’s the Stone Roses up in space filming another “desert video”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bHMVAKDao&feature=related
on January 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
You missed an opportunity there Chis. You should’ve said “Well there you go, perhaps it is. Give us our £80m back and we will see if we can find any more in the universe and report back!”
Robin
on January 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Chris, dont worry, some celebrity somewhere will break wind in the wrong place and make all the front pages then this will be forgotten.
Still…it does look like a..no it doesn’t..!!
on January 24th, 2008 at 12:28 am
thank you for being skeptical (and rational) about this picture… if you believe this is evidence of alien life then you might as well off yourself now and get it over with…
on January 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I might just classify it as an edge-on/unclear spiral, with a small overlap which should be pleasing to NGC3314; but it’s more likely to be an irregular, so class as Star/Don’t Know.
on January 24th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Chris,
Are you and Patrick going to resign from BBC over this outrage and take the Sky at Night to another channel? It is worrying what even the BBC will do to get viewers/ readers.
No doubt some people could see the face of Jesus/Mary/Muhammed/Satan or the tooth fairy depending on their particular affiliation or the amount they had been drinking.
on January 24th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
[...] Emily over at the Planetary Society blog is often full of wisdom, and I’m impressed she managed to keep calmer that I did when faced with ’Bigfoot’ on Mars. (It’s STILL a rock!) She says : [...]
on January 24th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Once more with feeling: IT’S A ROCK!!!
on January 24th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Also, the constant skeptic’s comment made me laugh really hard. Thanks!
on January 24th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Chris,
I’m sorry, this must be frustrating.. but, I laught so hard I had tears in my eyes.. realy loved your answers! Of course it’s a rock!!
Hanny.
on January 25th, 2008 at 11:20 am
This is the problem with things starting as jokes. For example, according to some old family history, the idea of tinned custard was proposed and offered to the market as a joke. It ended up selling successfully . . . still, even things like this rock do not make it worth sacrificing your sense of humour!
on January 25th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
In todays London Metro freebie paper it has a feature on Opportunity and it being the fourth anniversary of its stay on Mars, I could not beleive it they listed its scientific finds and the problems old age is causing it. This paper is normally a bit of mind bubble gum for the early morning commute so I say well done.
BBC journalism is very hit an miss these days and the Breakfast show is just childish rubbish with slurry county accents that do not belong in the 21st century, I watch Euro news at least it has a dedicated science slot and gives a broader view of the news. If the Beeb does do anything of quality it is buried somewhere in BBC9 or whatever at 2am Monday morning. The license fee is not justifiable when people outside the UK watch and listen to it for free. Perhaps if editors everwhere woke up to the space age and the increadible missions that are currently in operation we may not have so many budget cuts in science and more students taking it up.
Oh well I suppose Star Trek is far more real and the population of the pale blue dot more interested in blowing themselves up. Mars was in fantastic view last night even from dear old London most don’t even know its there when you show them they are agog why are we so silent in a noisy media world.
on January 31st, 2008 at 12:18 pm
[...] It seemed that my anger struck a chord, and I’ve been literally deluged with a email asking me to commemorate the fact that it’s a rock. I couldn’t resist marking the momentous discovery of a rock, so you’re welcome to wander over to cafe press and acquire something that will remind everyone you meet… [...]
on February 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] This is (probably) the last post about our friend the Martian Bigfoot. Having been rude about the BBC News article on the subject, I’m delighted they’ve given me a chance to write my take on the subject. You can read my brief history of life on Mars here. [...]
on February 13th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I think it looks like something my dog left behind; had I owned a bull, then it would succinctly sum up this story.