by Mike Bara
If we had been stuck with just the Clementine data from 18 years ago, we might never have known any more about these weird objects on Tycho’s rim than we do today. However, in 2009 NASA sent the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to the Moon, with a hi-res camera better than anything that had been sent there before. They very quickly made the floor of the crater Tycho a target of this wonderful instrument, but early views showed the northeast rim in shadow and later images were of no better quality than the Clementine data. I assume much better versions of the LRO Tycho images do exist; I just haven’t been able to find them as of this writing.
As to the ones that have been publically released, well everything still seems to be there, and my earlier findings are certainly not refuted by what they show. They still stand out because of their brightness and unique visual characteristics. There still appear to be entrances into some of the objects, and the backhoe and longhorn are still just plain weird. And then there’s that pyramid looking thing…
CAD recreation of the “Longhorn.”
The Tycho Village from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
I’ve always found it very curious that these objects on the northeast rim of Tycho disappeared in the spectral analysis done during the Clementine period. Perhaps only a landing—manned or otherwise—will settle their origins once and for all.
Hortensius
Another region of interest on the Moon that I was hoping to update was the area around the craters Hortensius and Hortensius C. Back in the late 1990s, I worked with Steve Troy on looking over the area for my old Lunar Anomalies web page. Steve had found some very interesting geometry in the area between the two craters, and had forwarded the excellent Lunar Orbiter medium resolution image to me for study.
Hortensius is an equatorial [6 degrees N, 28 degrees W] nearside, 14 km-wide crater just southwest of Copernicus. The region is dominated by a series of volcanic domes stretching several hundred miles north of the crater itself. When I originally got LO-III-123M and the sectionals from Steve I wasn’t all that excited. Sure, there were some interesting patterns and the “volcanic” domes of this area don’t look all that volcanic, but I had basically decided this would be a backburner project. Then I looked at the sectionals.
NASA frame LO-III-123M. Prominent craters in the middle of frame are Hortensius and Hortensius C.
They revealed a vast expanse of regular geometric patterning that seemed to flow in the same directions, parallel to each other all the way across the frames and crossing at very regular perpendicular angles. They were also not in line with the grain of the film and were substantial enough to be blatantly obvious with a magnifying glass. You can even note them on the highly compressed crude scan above. Volcanic fracturing can certainly cause parallel patterns, but perpendicularity over a vast (100 square kilometers) area is far harder to explain away as volcanic. In addition, the patterning seemed to be more like channels or tubes rather than a fracture pattern.
Wide angle view of complex, geometric patterning between craters Hortensius and Hortensius C.
The really weird thing though was that a lot of this pattering was on top of the feeble ejecta blanket around Hortensius (the big crater in the lower middle) itself, hinting that it either came after the formation of the crater or was only partially obliterated by the thin ejecta layer.
Closer view of the “Factory.” Note triangular bunkers and “access roads.”
Now, completely setting aside for the moment the strange lack of “spew” from such a large impact, my eyes were drawn to the area to the right of Hortensius between it and Hortensius C, the smaller (about 7 km diameter) crater at the image’s right edge. In here, I noted (as Steve had) some very significant geometry—and some overt structures.
The bunkers in high contrast.
The “Factory Complex”
This stunning region is about 4 x 3 kilometers, judging by the size of Hortensius C. It is dominated by triangular “hanger doors” leading to semi-recessed bunker like structures, and a stunning black box shaped object the size of a 10 story building. In addition, the pronounced right angle pattern in the foreground is reminiscent of barely covered tunnel network. There is also a striking symmetry in the exposed areas (the T-shaped feature behind the building for instance).
High-contrast view of the Factory.
What struck me first were rows and rows of archways and entrances that were at different levels of the structure. There seemed to be access roads, entrances and hangar doors all along this area. Contrast enhanced close-ups showed some even stranger structures, pipes and tube networks all around the area.
This series of raised, parallel triangular openings are recessed into the surrounding terrain, and compare favorably to the camouflaged bunkers here on Earth. This reinforces the impression of a factory or storage complex. Note also the straight line behind the first set of “bunkers.” Organized facilities display regular, repeating patterns and identical features over wide distances. Natural formations are far more random.
Black object (center) is the “Lincoln Memorial.”
The shadows cast by the bunkers are inconsistent with oval cratering caused by ejecta impacts. To say this arrangement of objects is anomalous is a wild understatement. They are flatly inexplicable in a currently accepted or theorized geologic model.
There are parallel terraces all along the right side of this Factory and perpendicular striations (access roads?) around the bunkers. Conceivably, the underlying tunnel network could be lava tubes formed in the ancient past similar to riles and ridges seen in other regions of the Moon. However, it should also be observed that such tubes have been proposed as ideal locations for eventual human bases on the lunar surface because they provide easily sealed off cavities with natural protection from the harsh radiation and temperature variations that would be encountered. This would make modified “natural” lava tubes an ideal place to hollow out a subsurface base of some kind.
The Lincoln Memorial
Just above and behind “bunker row” is a large, dark object that appears to be sitting exposed on a plank of sorts above a dark opening. It has a large, rounded object on top of it that is casting a shadow on the main body below. The right part of the plank appears to be connected to the central complex by a dark, cylindrical object.
The “Lincoln Memorial.”
Marked up details of The “Lincoln Memorial.”
Quite simply, there is no conventional natural explanation for this set of objects. Indeed, there is no conceivable geologic process or even set of processes which can account for these structures. It certainly isn’t any kind of crater.
Notice that there is no discernible rim, and compare it with countless other examples of sharp edged impact regions across the lunar landscape. The “Lincoln Memorial” itself is a roughly cubic shape, with spherical nodes or buttresses at the base along the “plank”. Lincoln also seems to have a “head” that is approximately spherical and casting a vast shadow over his “chest.” To the right, a canister like object seems to be linking the “plank” to the main body of the facility. The “Truss” has cylindrical central body spanning the “plank” and the edge of the “terraces.” It is anchored at both ends by a half-slot shaped end cap which extends to the ground on each side. The archway underneath the cylindrical shape is plainly visible. This object would appear to be a support or reinforcing member holding the “plank” up.
Note the shadow cast beneath Lincoln seems to be a hollow area with no visible support for the structure. The plank itself would seem to be only thing holding the Memorial up.
The Overhang.
Crater with support struts and girders around it.
Ultra close-ups not only show the shadow cast by the head, but also what may be a rectangular platform beneath. This platform would be large enough to serve as a landing pad for a vehicle like the Lunar Module.
And there are other strange, architectural looking objects all over LO-III-123M. On the right side of the Factory complex
is a dark opening with a disk-shaped object hanging over it.
Notice it is supported from the upper rear by a strut, and that the surrounding terrain seems to flow into the darkness below it, as if this were the entrance to an underground bunker or complex. Given its location adjacent to the “Factory”, this may indeed be precisely that. Note the generally square shape of the opening, and again the even symmetry of the both the “Overhang” itself and chasm it seems to guard. There is also a light, dome shaped node just beneath the “Overhang” in the darkened area which may be indicative of light (from the nearly directly overhead sun) creeping through thinned areas of the “Overhang” itself, or possibly of some form of self-luminescence. A final possibility is that the “Overhang” has a light source in its central disk and this is projecting downward. There certainly seems to be a rounded “something” in the dark area below the opening.
The last area I’ll cover from LO-III-123M is the area around the crater just east of (and adjacent to) the Factory. When I looked at the scans of the photographic negatives (which are much higher resolution than the current “high-res” scans on NASA websites) I was frankly, pretty astonished at what I saw. There, in a crater next to the Factory, was a bunch of structural debris.
Close-up of a girder.
The crater itself is approximately two KM across and seems to be of the collapse variety. On closer inspection the area around it seems to consist of intersecting structural members barely poking through the regolith. They are very linear and have regularly spaced “lightening holes”, or dark areas, in them.
As I studied the image I was struck by what appeared to be an edge to the crater on lower left side just below the framelet line. Note that there is a distinct rim in this portion of the image. Given the shadow length, I was also a bit disturbed by the dark zone just below and to the right of the crater rim. If this were a normal crater, the area should be illuminated rather than pitch black. It occurred to me that there must have been a collapse of the surface skin in this dark zone.
By all rights, this should be a lopsided partial crater with a significant buildup of collapse material in the dark zone. The question then becomes “What is providing the structural stiffness of the crater itself?”
The simple fact is that unless the crater is an extremely stiff structural object, (like I don’t know, a satellite dish?) it should probably have collapsed into the recessed dark area. Given that it did not, I considered the winding, striated feature in the left center of the object as a possible support strut. It projects from the surface at a 45 degree angle and an apparently anchors under the rim of the crater.
Note also the parallel lines making up segments of the “Strut” are aligned at this same angle, rather than running along the direction of the surrounding terrain. It has all the earmarks of a spring loaded strut, similar to the earthquake absorption systems in modern office buildings. There is also an odd jagged edge on the right portion of the deeply shadowed area, as if a plate or board was broken by an impact. Underneath the “Strut” is an object easily recognizable as an I-beam or girder with lightening holes. This is similar to other such girders just north of the crater. It seems to be slightly stressed and bent under the “Strut.” The truth is, this object has all the engineering characteristics of an I-beam. It has a central web, raised sides (or flanges) and equally spaced lightening holes. I believe that the middle lightening hole is slightly distorted by the vertical line (which may be a defect) passing just through the middle of it in the photo.
When it comes to the “ground truth” we talked about in chapter 4, the Factory area is, in my opinion, one the best proofs yet of ancient alien inhabitation of the Moon. Not only are all the features plainly visible in both the analog and digital data sets, they defy any reasonable prosaic geological explanation. The terraced, multi-level topography and recessed bunker formations are indicative of military installations in remote areas of Earth, and the “Lincoln Memorial” (which is the size of a ten story building) evokes comparisons with power plants or other large-scale facilities.
The other objects discussed in areas adjacent to the Factory are also well outside traditional Lunar geologic modeling. They appear to be part of a massive and well organized underground facility in the region, and they reveal damaged and exposed support structures that make architectural sense while simultaneously defying natural explanation.
But the fact is, there are still those who will refuse to believe that what they’ve been shown in this book is proof of the Ancient Aliens on the Moon hypothesis, or that NASA would want to cover any of this up. That why I’ve saved the best for last.
CHAPTER 9
THE ZIGGURAT, COPERNICUS
AND BEYOND THE INFINITE
Ziggurats are massive Mesopotamian structures that were built thousands of years ago in what is today Iraq and modern Iran. Primarily used as temples and fortresses, ziggurats are stepped pyramidal structures architecturally similar to the step pyramids of Central and South America. They always had a specific set of architectural features that distinguished them from other pyramidal structures; a ramp or set of ramps leading to the top, high walls and a single ramp that led to a shrine or temple at the top, presumably to be used for rituals to the Gods that created or inspired them.
And there’s one on the Moon.
Late in the process of writing this book, I came across this close-up view of what can only be described as a full, functional and only partially buried ziggurat on the Moon. I found it on an internet message board while searching for something else.1 At any rate, the photo of the Ziggurat was listed as coming from Apollo 11 photographic frame AS11-38-5564. It is truly rare that a message board posting of this type actually comes with a frame number, but this time I was in luck. The image of the Ziggurat comes from an orbital view of the lunar far side (remember, not the dark side), somewhere west of the crater Daedalus at 7.5° S / 175° E. This is interesting for a number of reasons, not least of which is that Daedalus is very close to 180° around the circumference of the Moon from the triangular crater Ukert on the front side. That means that the Ziggurat lies at what is called the “antipodal” point to Ukert, the point exactly opposite (or nearly so) on the lunar sphere.
The “Ziggurat” from Apollo frame AS11-38-5564.
At first blush, the image is impressive, showing a clear, pyramidal, walled structure with a central core (or temple, if you like) rising from the interior structure. The central temple has what appears to be a bridge or walkway leading into it, and the square temple housing has a dome on top of it. To the front are twin, angled ramps leading to the top of the wall. It bears a striking resemblance to the ziggurat at Ur, in southern Iraq, having all the same features if a somewhat different architectural arrangement.
When I did the side-by-side comparison, I was even more impressed with the resemblance.
Other comparisons with the artistic reconstructions of the ziggurat at Ur were even more compelling since the top few levels of the surviving relic are now nothing but dust.
The Ur Ziggurat.
Daedalus Ziggurat (left) and artistic reconstruction of Ur Ziggurat (right).
To me, this almost became the Holy Grail for the Ancient Aliens on the Moon theory. If this structure was real, there could be no doubt whatsoever as to its artificial origin. All I had to do was find it on AS11-38-5564 and confirm it with my own enhancements. After some pursuing of the internet, I found that this pyramid was fairly popular and that it had been spread around quite a bit. The original file that I downloaded was named “as1120pyramid20smallue2. jpg.” I did not find any specific reference as to who initially spotted it or put it on the Net, although John Lear’s name was mentioned in one message board. Lear however, denied that in a Facebook posting in July, 2012.
So after some searching, I downloaded the print resolution jpeg from the Lunar and Planetary Institute web site and began looking for the Ziggurat.
I didn’t find it.
As it turned out, there w
as a very good reason I didn’t find it. It wasn’t there. At least, not in the form that it was shown on the web sites I’d downloaded it from. It took me quite a while, but I eventually did find the area in frame AS11-38-5564 where the Ziggurat should have been—it just wasn’t there.
What was there was a fairly normal, bland, mundane looking lunar landscape.
So either the Ziggurat itself was a fake, or the current publically available NASA version of AS11-38-5564 was a fake that had been altered to cover up the presence of the Ziggurat. What I could see clearly on both images was the angled “ramps” that led up to the top of either the simple hill, or the structure, depending on which one was real. At least the ramps were real. Also, if the initial image of the pyramid was a fake, it was a very good one, with subtle details and the correct lighting to be a legitimate photo.
The Daedalus Ziggurat from as1120pyramid20smallue2.jpg (L) and from the current NASA version of ASll-38-5564(R).
The question is, was it? I tried to search the Internet Archive to see if the NASA web pages had been altered over the years, and sadly not to my surprise I found that LPI/NASA doesn’t allow their pages to be archived in this manner. In fact, I am probably responsible for this myself to a certain degree. Back in 2002 during a major controversy over infrared images of the Cydonia region of Mars, I had caught NASA’s Dr. Phillip Christensen in bald-faced lie about the images using the Archive. Since then, most NASA sites have opted out of the option of being periodically archived. Go figure.
Full version of AS11-38-5564 (NASA) white square indicates location of the Ziggurat.
At this point, I had no real way I prove the genesis of the Ziggurat image. It had no traceable lineage (unlike the Ken Johnston photographs) and I had never seen a full size version of AS 11-38-5564 with the Ziggurat on it in order to do my own context work and enhancements. The available NASA digital images were possibly sanitized and there was no way to trace if they had ever been altered after being placed on the web. I was at a seeming dead end, stuck in a he said/she said kind of spot.
