Space

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Captures Strange Image of a Woman-like Figure (VIDEO)

Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Aug 11, 2015 09:08 AM EDT
The figure of what appears to be a woman may or may not be there. Most likely, though, the "woman" is actually a feature on Mars that is shaped similarly enough to a person that we view it as one.

In this case, the "woman" may be due to pareidolia, which is a phenomenon that causes us to see things that aren't really there; people tend to see familiar images in unfamiliar patterns, which may explain this particular phenomenon.

Common examples of pareidolia are when we see images of animals, faces or objects in cloud formations. The "man in the moon" is another example in addition to hidden messages within recorded music played in reverse or at higher or lower-than-normal speeds.

This particular phenomenon is actually the visual or auditory form of apophenia, which is the perception of patterns within random data.

So what does this mean? Most likely, there isn't a woman on Mars. However, this image does show off the new website that NASA is using in order to select a new landing site for its 2020. This site reveals images that the rover has taken during its time on the red Planet.

Want to learn more about Curiosity's mission? Check out NASA's website.

For a closer look at the "woman" on Mars, check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.

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