Martian ‘kneeling to pray', monstrous spiders, secret doorway and Ghandi's FACE – the creepiest pics of Mars ever taken
And if you went by those pics alone, you'd think the Martian surface was littered with mysterious faces, swarms of monstrous spiders, and even alien beings.
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This legendary Martian feature has been famous around the world since the 1970s
Credit: NASA/JPL
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It looks like a stone carving of a giant human (or even alien) face
Credit: NASA/JPL
Of course, Mars is just a barren wasteland – only occupied by camera-toting rovers shipped there from Earth.
So why do we see all of these strange faces and figures on Mars?
Well it's a phenomenon known as pareidolia, which is a human tendency to see patterns when there isn't one – and it's often to blame for those bizarre sightings on the red planet.
Here are some of the creepiest "sightings" from our space neighbour, Mars.
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CYDONIA 'FACE ON MARS'
One of the most iconic Martian faces is from the Cydonia region.
The feature was first captured in 1976, revealing a strikingly humanlike formation on the Martian surface.
Early images of the region were snapped by Viking 1 and Viking 2, a pair of Nasa orbiters tasked with imaging Mars.
It's since been captured in several later photographs, clearly exposing it as an optical illusion.
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Most read in Science
Sadly it's not a giant alien face at all – but a massive 1.2-mile-long Cydonian mesa.
The region is known for its flat-topped mesas.
SPACED OUT Stunning images of Mars surface revealed by Nasa
BEAR WE GO
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The giant face of a bear was captured on the Martian surface
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Forget Stonehenge – what about
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That's what was seemingly snapped by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on December 12, 2022.
It looks like the face of an enormous grizzly, but it's actually just a weird hill, as Nasa explains: "A V-shaped collapse structure makes the nose, two craters form the eyes, and a circular fracture pattern shapes the head.
"The circular fracture pattern might be due to the settling of a deposit over a buried impact crater."
LEG IT!
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Arachnophobes, look away now
Credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS
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These strange spider-like formations aren't eight-legged critters – and that's very good news
Credit: Nasa / JPL / MRO
Several images of what look like
The first was caught by the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace
Gas
Orbiter in October 2020, and the second was picked up by Nasa's MRO in May 2018.
Thankfully they're not spiders at all – but a strange phenomenon called "araneiform terrain".
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"This is an active seasonal process not seen on Earth," Nasa explained.
"Like dry ice on Earth, the carbon dioxide ice on Mars sublimates as it warms (changes from solid to gas) and the gas becomes trapped below the surface.
"Over time the trapped carbon dioxide gas builds in pressure and is eventually strong enough to break through the ice as a jet that erupts dust.
"The gas is released into the atmosphere and darker dust may be deposited around the vent or transported by winds to produce streaks.
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"The loss of the sublimated carbon dioxide leaves behind these spider-like
features
etched into the surface."
LIVING ON A PRAYER
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All the way to the far left of this image is what appears to be a Martian
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
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Look closely – can you see him?
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University (highlighted by The Sun)
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The striking image appears to show a kneeling man
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University (cropped by The Sun)
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In 2007, Nasa's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured what appeared to be a person kneeling in prayer.
It made headlines around the world when the image was released in early 2008.
The eerie scene was part of a vast panorama of Martian hills taken during the closing months of Spirit's mission.
Of course, all we're actually seeing is an interesting rock, and a trick of the light.
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GHANDI'S MARTIAN TWIN
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Is this the face of Ghandi on Mars?
Credit: ESA
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Can you see any resemblance to Indian statesman and activist Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?
Credit: Getty - Contributor
Pictures from
Europe
's Mars Express probe appear to have captured a Ghandi lookalike on Mars.
The Mars Orbiter has been used to pack out the Google Mars project with satellite-style snaps of the red planet.
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And in 2011, Italian space fan Matteo Lanneo thought he spotted Ghandi's likeness on the surface.
Of course, it's just another classic example of pareidolia, where we're simply seeing things that aren't really there.
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Here's a better and higher-resolution snap of the spot captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which much more clearly shows a collapse pit rather than a hill
Credit: ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
MARTIAN DOORWAY
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A panoramic image captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover shows a secret doorway
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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Nasa used its data to create a measurement of the 'doorway'
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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The space agency says it's just a common type of fracture
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
In mid-2022, Nasa captured
The picture of the mound on Mount Sharp was snapped by Nasa's Curiosity Rover.
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Sadly it's not really a doorway, as Nasa explains: "The mound, on Mount Sharp, has a number of naturally occurring open fractures – including one roughly 12 inches (30 centimeters) tall and 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide, similar in size to a dog door.
"These kinds of open fractures are common in bedrock, both on Earth and on Mars."
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Mars is our closest neighbour – and is a strange and mysterious alien world still unexplored by humans
Credit: Nasa
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