December 14, 2003
The story of your birthday began billions of years before calendars existed, in furnaces of light and clouds of dust.
Close-up of the Face on Mars
Birthday · December 14, 2003
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published December 14, 2003. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Wouldn't it be fun if clouds were turtles? Wouldn't it be fun if the laundry on the bedroom chair were a friendly monster? Wouldn't it be fun if rock mesas on Mars were faces or interplanetary monuments? Clouds, though, are small water droplets, floating on air. Laundry is cotton, wool, or plastic, woven into garments. Famous Martian rock mesas known by names like the Face on Mars appear quite natural when seen more clearly, as the above recently released photo shows. Is reality boring? Nobody knows how clouds make lightning. Nobody knows the geological history of Mars. Nobody knows why the laundry on the bedroom chair smells like root beer. Understanding reality brings more questions. Mystery and adventure are never far behind. Perhaps fun and discovery are just beginning.