Ever since the Viking 1 probe sent back blurry photos of the Cydonia region of Mars in 1976, a bunch of , uh, Martian mystery enthusiasts have maintained that the image is of a giant humanoid face, and proof of an ancient civilization on the red planet. Many of these same people have numerous books, films, and wall hangings supporting their theories in their Y2K bunkers, and if you ask nicely, they may even let you take a look -- provided no black helicopters fly over when you drop in for a visit.

But make sure you drop in soon, because a series of images have come back from the planet recently, and they appear to conclusively support the longstanding theory that the "face on Mars" image was just an optical illusion.

Sometimes, an unusual formation of mountains, valleys and landslides is just an unusual formation of mountains, valleys and landslides, but the True Believers will read this story, look at the pictures, and immediately discard them as further evidence of the conspiracy to suppress the truth about Cydonia. I attempted to contact the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and a Moderate Republican for comment about the face on Mars, but calls were not returned at press time.

Luckily for us, however, today's Astronomy Picture of the Day features the image in question, sent from the Mars Express, which you can look at and judge for yourself.