Things We Saw Today: The Star Trek Starfleet Logo Shows Up on Mars

Recent photos taken of the surface of Mars reveal a geological marking that looks awfully familiar. The Chevron-style shape bears a striking resemblance to the iconic Starfleet logo from Star Trek, well known to nerds everywhere. The image comes courtesy of the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera, which was shared by the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

The shapes, which occur in the southeast Hellas Planitia on Mars, are the “footprint” of large crescent-shaped dunes that have since blown over. These “footprints” mark the areas where dunes were surrounded during a lava eruption, which then solidified around the dunes. These shapes are also know as dune casts, but the familiar shape of these casts has nerd Twitter in an uproar.

Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, tweeted about the findings while poking fun at Star Wars:

Our beloved Space Dad Mark Hamill responded in kind, and the duo struck up some friendly banter:

Now this is a Twitter feud I can fully get behind! Great work, guys.

(via CNN, image: CBS News)

• Director Simon Kinberg tries to untangle the complex timeline of X-Men. Do Avengers: Endgame next! (via /Film)
• Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz are teaming up for a “New Mutants: War Children” one-shot. (via CBR)
• The Try Guys’ Eugene Lee Yang comes out in a deeply personal music video which is raising money for the Trevor Project:
• Here are some E3 deets on the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga game. (via Kotaku)
• Daredevil‘s epic 11-minute single shot prison fight sequence is ineligible for an Emmy for stunt work. Boo. (via Blastr)
• Sadly, The Tick has not been able to find a new home after getting cancelled by Amazon Prime. Creator Ben Edlund shared the news on Twitter:
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After much door-knocking we have found no new home for the Tick series in this current market. #SaveTheTick & #LunaTickArmy I'm sorry we could not reward your glorious support with better news. I am so proud of the show, of the cast and crew and writers, and so warmed by the fans

— ben_edlund (@ben_edlund) June 14, 2019

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Please continue to choose love and hope for good things. And I think we might as well accept it as a law of the universe: when the time is right #TheTick always comes back…

— ben_edlund (@ben_edlund) June 14, 2019

What are you up to today, Mary Suevians?

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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