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Hortensius Report
by
Steve Troy

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I accessed LO-III-123M, the Hortensius Domes, Site S-20 - 8 X 10 negative from NSSDC in March of '97, and prints with sectionals of specific areas were developed.  The frame has revealed what look to be remarkable "Arcologies".

    As mentioned on this websites recent Crisium story, my interest for the past 3 years has been detailed analog investigations into lunar raw data from not only Lunar Orbiter technology but Apollo as well. After recently joining research efforts with Mike Bara - who has computer enhancement capabilities - we are able to get further resolution and confirmation of "artificiality's" found in NASA lunar photography. In examining LO-III-123M, I determined that there are definite angular, geometric, three-dimensional "arcologies" - repeating, tiered surface structure that look artificial and unnatural. In June of 1997 I sent Richard Hoagland, Enterprise Mission, a set of dupe prints with findings for his consideration. In October of 1997, Mike Bara received identical dupe prints / sectionals to process.

    In my interpretations, I have initially approached what I've seen on the photography in the way of anomalous structure - from a natural, historical - geologic perspective. It is the geological-stratigraphy of the moon that was after all, of interest to me, prior to my present research direction, and still remains of interest.

    I think it important to comparatively examine traditionally accepted science of lunar stratigraphy with areas that don't seem to fit within its parameters. I believe that the bigger picture principle regarding stratigraphic unit timeline of lunar origin and its geologic evolution are accurate for the most part. It is in interpreting and correlating small areas within the units, such as crater and terra materials, is where I have difficulty with the accepted paradigms of this science. This will be important to remember for readers of this website upon accessing my commentary and findings on unnatural lunar anomalies found during my investigations. It has been important for me therefore, to push science into interpretations as far as I can, to try to identify and interpret though traditional modeling. It seems that in many cases beyond LO-III-123M, there are areas on our sister planet that are simply unexplainable from a natural perspective that have been preserved on NASA lunar data.

Photography like III-123M included three areas of data:

1. Providing data for the screening of Surveyor landing sites.
2. Providing data for potential Apollo sites.
3. Providing data of scientific interest. [1]

    This frame was taken the 51st day of 1967 at 13 hours, 17 min., 5 seconds (for those interested in the Redshift program). Principal point of the photo is 7.41 lat. / -27.71 long. The spacecraft was at 5.3 km. altitude - the slant distance was 148 km.

    Scientifically, the Hortensius Domes are interesting natural formations - certainly unlike the dome I found on the North Shore of Crisium.

    These domes are positive landforms formed for the most part by basalt extrusion and seem to be concentrated as low profile mare features. They suggest fluid volcanism of mafic magmas, can be as much as 15 km across and 150 m high, and are of the Procellarum group of late Imbrian/early Eratosthenian features. [2]

    Low center in the photo is 17 km Hortensius crater with Hortensius C to the East and Hortensius EC to the bottom of the photo. Milichius crater (far left) is partially in frame. There are smaller 5 km satellite craters sprinkled throughout the frame that formed from material of the Copernican event.

    Due to the obliquity of the frame, features of course appear in perspective. Around and near craters mentioned I've noticed many structures appearing to be natural, low ridge rim material subradial to Copernicus. [3]

    Within, beside, and between these ridges upon looking carefully at sectionals, there also appear to be buttressed, tiered bunkers with square and rectangular walls adjacent to one another, patterned together into repetitious, geometric, architecture-like sequences throughout the fore and middle ground. Some of these are found on thinner ejecta blankets of larger craters mentioned. Many seem to have been inset into natural ridges. There are remarkable patterns resembling foundations, sub-structure and "Arcologies", one resembling a factory.

Figure 1. Photo (Above) and sketches.

    This complex is seen between Hortensius and Hortensius C. to the right of this complex along the framelet line separating framelets #158 and #159, there is a crater that Mike believes is unusual. To the left of this crater, I've noticed an unusual fan shape just above the framelet line emanating from the shadow of the crater with its apex joining the rim of a smaller crater (?) to its left.

Figure 2.

    I believe there is a possibility that there may have been an artificial connection between these craters. There seem to be enigmatic structural relationships that "connect" many of them in the region of the factory. Could lunar mineralogy have been a reason? I hesitate to speculate beyond this.

    It would take a pamphlet worth of web data to cover all of the similar structures in this frame.There are anomalous structures right around the Hortensius crater rim particularly to the North side (that faces the domes to the North) on the ejecta. One approximate location is seen in fig.3. Sectionals are needed to resolve them.

Figure 3.

    Within framelet #153 toward the lower left portion of the photograph there is a very small trapezoidal depression that is somewhat reminiscent of the famous "D"-shaped patch caldera located between the Haemus and Apennine Mountains at 18º 40N and 5° 20'E, in a small maria area. (See Fig 4)

Figure 4.

    It was skim-studied in the Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report [4] when discussing the orbital science of the mission and studied in depth in the Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report. Calderas are depressed areas - and the area in LO-III-123M does seem to be depressed. However, unlike the "D" shaped formation at Haemus, it's interior has a right angular regularity and it's appearance is cellular, and foundation-like. "Depressed regularity" is difficult to associate with natural random molten interior draining into an underground cavity during a natural evolving caldera scenario.

    According to NASA SP-330, the collapse of the "D" structure at Haemus was followed by "numerous small extrusions that formed the bulbous structures in the caldera floor" [5] and the sequence discussed of its formation is relevant to volcanic process that result in the formation of small scale domes. Hortensius does have natural domes - so it would stand to reason therefore that the LO-III-123M depressed area could be natural. However, the bulbous "structures" refered to a natural caldera at Haemus looks more like a right angle geometric foundation in the LO-III-123M trapezoid. There are other features here [see figure 5].

Figure 5.

    In one corner, there is a small satellite crater and yet a smaller one with an exceptionally bright rim in the middle of the "trapezoid" as well. There looks to be regular angularities coming off the both of these -3km craters that lead down into the depression. [see fig.5] seeing these details took me to the limits of what I could do from an analog approach to this particular area.

    Toward the viewer to the right, along the framelet - the artificially regularity continues up above the depressed area about as far as its width.

    For a few of the anomalies mentioned here out many studied in this frame - I have attempted to sketch primary line angles of what I am seeing. One deals with many Grey levels in this type of research. I haven't tried to capture these artistically - just the main geometric shapings that I perceive. On the other frames to be discussed in the future, I have made contour tracings of the anomalies in order to discern geometric regularities. There are other enigmas along framlet # 152, possible one around Milichius (left of frame) and in amongst the domes upper center of frame.

More to come.

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Footnotes:

1. Lunar Orbiter Photography, CR-984, p.56.
2. Wilhems, Don, Geol. History of the Moon, USGS Prof. Paper 1348.
3. Schmitt, Trask, Shoemaker, Copernicus Quadrangle, I-515 (LAC 58) - USGS.
4. Whittaker, Eiven, An Unusual Mare Feature, Apollo 15 Prelminary Sci. Rept., NASA SP-289, pp 25-84 and 25-85.
5. El-Baz, Farouk, "D-Caldera" : New Photography of a Unique Feature, Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report, NASA, SP-330, pp.30-13 to 30-17.

© 1998 STEVE TROY