Is there something suspicious happening on Mars, or is it all a figment of our imagination again? NASA’s Perseverance rover recently spotted rocks on the Red Planet that look very much like shark fins, and an accompanying boulder that looks like a crab claw. A photo of the find was published on the official NASA website.
Since arriving on Mars on February 18, 2021, the mobile robot has been exploring the Jezero crater on Mars in search of signs of ancient life. But these strange rocks, photographed on August 18, 2023, came as a surprise.
Despite the fact that the currently barren and arid landscape of Mars was filled with water billions of years ago, there is no evidence about life on the planet, and these images certainly do not change this fact. But the rocks in the image indicate the phenomenon of pareidolia, which plays with our perception of the world.
Pareidolia and the phenomenon of the Face on Mars
Pareidolia is the tendency of the brain to perceive a meaningful image from random visual data. It is because of it that we see animals or even entire plots in the clouds. And Mars is no exception. One of the most famous examples of pareidolia in history is the legendary Face on Mars. In July 1976, NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft explored Mars from orbit, taking pictures of the Martian landscape. One of these pictures showed a face that looked like a huge sculpture, in which the nose and mouth were visible.
The image caused quite a fuss, and many claimed that it was the work of intelligent beings. The debate around the Face on Mars has been going on for decades, and scientific conferences have even been held to discuss it.
However, in 2001, new images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft revealed the true nature of this formation. It turned out that it was just a geological structure that was no different from other similar formations on Earth.
Cave entrance and other discoveries
Now modern rovers continue to take interesting pictures, which can sometimes look strange. For example, recently the rover noticed a rock that looked like a cat in the bread pose. Or a natural hole in the rock, which seemed to be artificially created, and caused a considerable stir in the network. However, NASA experts note that this is probably the result of natural geological processes, such as wind and erosion, and is not related to some ancient civilization on Mars.
Thus, although the “shark fin” and “crab claws” on Mars may look strange, their occurrence probably has natural explanations. This should be seen as an interesting example of pareidolia, and not as confirmation of the existence of Martian life or other anomalies.
NASA continues to explore Mars and study its landscape, and perhaps future discoveries will lead to important new conclusions about the history of this mysterious planet. In the interim, pareidolia remains an interesting phenomenon that reminds us how much our brain is always ready to consider forms and images, even where there are none.
Earlier we reported on how a “dinosaur footprint” was spotted on Mars.
According to forbes.com
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