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srobert

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 7, 2002
2,062
0
Wanna play? Here is my submission:

I was looking at some pretty dune formations when I stumbled on this.

I don't have a clue wath this is. Water treatment plant/reservoir?

I call it… The Green Litebrite Horsey.

24° 12' 44.38" N
23° 26' 14.95" E

Eye altitude: 32.00 miles

Somewhere in Libia, near a town called Al Jawf.

Those circles are about a kilometer wide. Some are empty.

You can comment or post your own interesting find.

_

Edit: Anybody knows how to create a link to a google earth area so it's easier than looking up coordinates?
 

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Chundles

macrumors G5
Jul 4, 2005
12,037
493
TrenchMouth said:
That's pretty cool. I found some similar ones in Nevada. These are about 1/5 mile in diameter. They are obviously agricultural in nature, but I have no idea what for.

View attachment 50333

Growing crops. The irrigation system is a long arm held up on wheels that rotates around the centre giving the circle shape to the crop.
 

louiek

macrumors 6502
Mar 7, 2006
350
62
Knutters Knoll, Melbourne
I doubt that's the case here Chundles, those circles are in the same plane on differing terrain. I reckon it's some of those secret sites that get blacked out by the government. Why exactly are you so keen to steer us away from the truth?
 

munkees

macrumors 65816
Sep 3, 2005
1,027
1
Pacific Northwest
It just Crop irregartion, saw lots of these in Iraq, and being in a desert they show up very well against a sand background.

Chundles is correct
 

Chundles

macrumors G5
Jul 4, 2005
12,037
493
louiek said:
I doubt that's the case here Chundles, those circles are in the same plane on differing terrain. I reckon it's some of those secret sites that get blacked out by the government. Why exactly are you so keen to steer us away from the truth?

The truth?

You can't handle the truth.
 

IJ Reilly

macrumors P6
Jul 16, 2002
17,909
1,496
Palookaville
munkees said:
It just Crop irregartion, saw lots of these in Iraq, and being in a desert they show up very well against a sand background.

Chundles is correct

He is -- that's exactly what they are. You see these frequently in arid places.
 

munkees

macrumors 65816
Sep 3, 2005
1,027
1
Pacific Northwest
IJ Reilly said:
He is -- that's exactly what they are. You see these frequently in arid places.

well don't drive across one, in the hot desert the top soil dries fast but the next 1.5 ft is very wet seen many HUMVEE it stuck, luckly I was in a tank, and is not an issue, other than we have to push the HUMVEE out of the field. Damagin the HUMVEE and the tank just tares the field to pieces. Don't feel bad for the farmer, we always conpensate him for any damages done, that is one thing we did in our area, if we damaged property we always paid for it. the locals loved it when we damaged stuff, they make more money :).
 

srobert

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 7, 2002
2,062
0
Ok. Found the comfirmation:

Green circles in the desert frequently indicate tracts of agriculture supported by center-pivot irrigation. The Al Khufrah Oasis in southeastern Libya (near the Egyptian border) is one of Libya’s largest agricultural projects, and is an easy-to-recognize landmark for orbiting astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Because only about 2 percent of Libya’s land receives enough rainfall to be cultivated, this project uses fossil water from a large underground aquifer. The Libyan government also has a plan called the Great Man Made River to pump and transport these groundwater reserves to the coast to support Libya’s growing population and industrial development.

The center-pivot irrigation system pumps water under pressure into a gantry or tubular arm from a central source. Anchored by a central pivot, the gantry slowly rotates over the area to be irrigated, thereby producing the circular patterns. Although the field diameters vary, these fields are approximately 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) in diameter. Darker colors indicate fields where such crops as wheat and alfalfa are grown. Lighter colors can indicate a variety of agricultural processes: fields that have been harvested recently; fields that are lying fallow; fields that have just been planted; or fields that have been taken out of production.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16729

I'd be curious to see that arm in action. That's one long arm. Must look something like this:

_
 

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Senater Cache

macrumors newbie
Jun 6, 2006
24
0
That is where they grow the pot for the region lol.

Google and you have now crippled and exposed their endeavors.:p
 

mpw

Guest
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
1
What about these straw bales piles in Yorkshire, some people say they can see messages kinda like crop circles. What do you think??
 

Queso

Suspended
Mar 4, 2006
11,821
8
I found a hovercraft crossing the sea at 50˚ 45'37.74"N 1˚08'14.63"W.

The Ryde to Southsea service apparently :)
 

WildCowboy

Administrator/Editor
Staff member
Jan 20, 2005
18,490
2,991
batman123 said:
Thats fake mate, someone photoshopped it for a joke, something to do with the new ipod...;)

It's not fake. You can go see it for yourself...open Google Earth and go to 30 31'00.83"S, 121 20'13.24"E.

It's not really an iPod (not an Apple ad campaign or Photoshop job)...looks like a water treatment facility of some sort, but it's definitely real.
 

7on

macrumors 601
Nov 9, 2003
4,939
0
Dress Rosa
WildCowboy said:
It's not fake. You can go see it for yourself...open Google Earth and go to 30 31'00.83"S, 121 20'13.24"E.

It's not really an iPod (not an Apple ad campaign or Photoshop job)...looks like a water treatment facility of some sort, but it's definitely real.

ooo, australia...
 

7on

macrumors 601
Nov 9, 2003
4,939
0
Dress Rosa
I saw this castle when I was over in Germany...
 

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kgarner

macrumors 68000
Jan 28, 2004
1,512
0
Utah
srobert said:
Ok. Found the comfirmation:
I'd be curious to see that arm in action. That's one long arm. Must look something like this:
That is exactly what they look like. As the article stated they are called Center Pivots, but every farmer I know just calls them circles. My dad is a farmer and that is how we irrigate our crops. I have spent many an afternoon replacing a motor on one of the towers becasue it went it out. It usually happens when you have something important that you need to do. Or at least it seemed that way when I was a kid.
 

Xander562

macrumors 68000
Apr 2, 2006
1,625
0
on one of the farthest eastward islands of Hawaii the water looks really weird, and when you turn it on the side it looks like this:
attachment.php




although this is with 3x terrain exaggeration
 

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