Fractal visionaries:

Fractals are everywhere -- in the woods as ferns, in the garden as cauliflower and broccoli, in the ocean as waves and coral, in the sky as clouds, even in outer space.  If anyone doubts this, I would recommend that they check today's fractal, which comes straight from the planet Mars.  The illustrated landscape is about as close as one can come to standing on the surface of Mars without actually traveling there.  I found it a few years ago while running Fractint version 18.21, which I believe came with the second edition of "Fractal Creations" by Tim Wegner etal.  (BTW, the book is a veritable encyclopedia of information about Fractint and fractals in general.  If anyone comes upon a copy, I would recommend grabbing it before it vanishes.)

The attached parameter file runs under the manzpower formula of fractint, so no formula file is included.  The fractal itself is from an area along the negative X-axis of the Z^3.25 mandeloid.  When I began exploring the fractional order mandeloids, I was annoyed by the discon tinuities that fill these fractals.  But then I stopped fighting the breaks and began taking advantage of them.  Today's image is nothing more than one big mass of discon tinuities colored to resemble a thin, dusty atmosphere, and a landscape littered with well oxidized rocks.

It's too bad that I have so far been unable to find those ancient abandoned cities that Ray Bradbury described as scattered about the surface of Mars, but I'm still looking.

Jim Muth
jamth@mindspring.com


START PARAMETER FILE============================================

Scene_on_Mars      { ; time=0:00:45.91-SF5 on P4-2000
  reset=1821 type=manzpower passes=t
  center-mag=-0.42022157244088460/-0.000011577520119\
  42/144032.4/2.3247/-5/0 params=0/0/3.25/0 float=y
  maxiter=550 inside=253 logmap=yes sound=off
  colors=000oYamYblXdjXehXggXheWjdWkbWm`Wn_VpYVqjY_b\
  YZVYZMXYEXY6XXrY_qY_qY_pY_pZ_oZ`oZ`nZ`mZ`mZ`lZ`l_`\
  k_`k_`j_ai_ai_ah_ah`ag`ag`af`ae`ae`ad`bdabcabcabba\
  brY_qZZpZYp_Yo_Xn`Wm`VlaVlaUkbTjcSicShdRhdQgePfePe\
  fOdgNdgMchMbhLaiK`iJ`jJ_jIZkHqZZp`YoaWncVmdUlfSkgR\
  iiQhjOglNfmMeoKdpJpX_nVZlUZiSYgRYePXcOW`MWZLVXJVVI\
  USGUQFTODSMCSJARH9RF7QbWQNTG7Q5rZawY9r`crberchrejr\
  gmpfmnemldmjclhblfald`lb_l`ZkZYkXXkVWkTVkRUkOSjMRj\
  KQjIPjGOjENiCMiALi8Ki6Ji4Ih2Hh0Gh2Gh4Gh6Hh8HhAHhCH\
  gEIgFIgHIgJIgLJgNCgPEgQGgRIgRKgSMfTOfUQfVSfWUfYVf_\
  WfaXgcXheYigYjiZkkZmm_mo_mq_mr_mr_mr_mr_mr_mwUVuXT\
  rZSo_Ql`PjbNgcMddKXeIUfHCgF9iDAgCAeBBcABa9C_8CY7DW\
  7EU6ES5FQ4FO3GM2GK1HI0JK3KM5MO8OPAPRDRTFTVIUXKWZNY\
  _PZaS`cUbeXcgZeiagjchlfjnhlpkmrmotpqurrwutywryroyl\
  kygzZazZcz_fzcizdzzkzfrPllUctZercXidO`fERg5Ih7Jh9K\
  gBLgEMgGNgIOfKPfRGXOReQSe }

END PARAMETER FILE==============================================