Three
high-tech companies have joined technology in the search for evidence
that a 980-foot-long feature on Turkey's Mt. Ararat might be what's
left of Noah's Ark.
The
high-tech effort involves GeoEye, INTA Space Turk, along with the
talents of Satellite Imaging Corporation. Satellite Imaging Corporation
of Houston, Texas has created a 3D terrain model of the so-called "Mt.
Ararat anomaly" -- making use of stereo IKONOS satellite image data to
create a flyover of the site in remote northeastern Turkey.
Porcher
Taylor, an associate professor at the University of Richmond's School
of Continuing Studies, has been at the forefront of utilizing Earth
orbiting remote sensing spacecraft to study the Ararat Anomaly from
space.
"To be best
of my knowledge, to date, only 2D satellite missions had been flown
over the anomaly, not stereo missions," he explained in a press release.
Taylor said GeoEye's IKONOS
satellite serves as a "space-based Indiana Jones" over the anomaly.
Furthermore, the GeoEye-1 to be launched early next year will make
the controversial anomaly almost twice as visible due to that
spacecraft's ultra-powerful 0.4 meter resolution.
The purported anomaly lies
surrounded by rugged strato-volcanic rock at the northwestern corner of
Mt. Ararats western plateau. It sits mostly buried underneath a
permanent glacier and drew attention because of its relatively smooth
surface texture and unusual physical composition, according to some
interpretations. The site occupied by the anomaly is located at 15,300
feet above sea level.
Copyright: Xinhua
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