The red planet

So, I was googling something today (we'll say it was probably for something related to my doctoral research) when I noticed that today's Google banner included some odd green creatures hanging out on what looks like an orange... and a telescope standing on a teeny earth. Unclear as to what this was in reference to, I clicked on it - and found this: a way cool elevation map of Mars.

I was thinking that I must be even more uninformed than usual: I often have some sense of what the Google pictures are about - so I checked the news. And learned that NASA has a spaceship wayyy up there getting ready to orbit around Mars.

Then I figured out that the banner had actually led me to "Google Mars" - yet another Google spinoff. Very cool stuff... but I liked it better when I thought that the Google banners were more of a light reflection of major current events rather than a venue for advertising their own stuff.