NASA astronomers have just discovered a ‘bear’ on Mars | Science and Ecology | Dr..

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NASA astronomers have just discovered a ‘bear’ on Mars |  Science and Ecology |  Dr..

Scientists studying the surface of Mars recently found another of the already famous space paprediolias. On this occasion, nothing more and nothing less than a structure similar to the face of a bear – or rather, a huge bear – smiles.

The image, published by the University of Arizona (UA) on January 25, was obtained thanks to NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Camera. According to the African Union, This image of a strange variety of geological formations was taken on December 12, 2022, as MRO was sailing about 251 kilometers above the Red Planet.

A view of Mars with a bear-shaped crater.

Over the years, we’ve seen some crazy craters on Mars thanks to the HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, like the famous smiley face or the elephant and the bird. But what could have created this strange feature in the center of the crater in the shape of a bear’s nose?

According to a statement posted on the HiRISE camera blog, It is a disjointed hill in the middle of an ancient crater.

“There is a mound with a V-shaped collapse structure (the nose), two pits (the eyes), and a circular fracture pattern (the head),” explains Alfred MacEwen, principal investigator at HiRISE.

“The circular fracture pattern could be from sediment deposition over a buried impact crater. Perhaps the snout is a volcanic or mud vent and the sediment could be lava or mudflows?”

Pareidolia: Familiar things in random places

Pareidolia is the human tendency or delusion to see structures in everyday objects, such as “the man on the moon” or the face of Jesus on toast. And in space, this Martian bear was not the only one.

A Gateway on Mars: The Mars rover Curiosity's MAST camera captured this intriguing image of the Red Planet.

‘Door’ on Mars: The Mars rover Curiosity’s MAST camera captured this intriguing image of the Red Planet.

On Mars, for example, in May last year, NASA’s Curiosity rover spotted a strange Martian rock formation that looked like a “strange door.” Another rock formation seen in February last year resembled a calm person hanging on the surface of Mars.

NASA Perseverance photographed a cat-shaped rock in Jezero Crater on September 8, 2022.

NASA Perseverance photographed a cat-shaped rock in Jezero Crater on September 8, 2022.

On the other hand, on the moon, in December 2021, the Chinese lunar rover Yutu 2 seemed to have discovered a “mysterious hut” on the surface of the moon. On that occasion, it was a strangely shaped, small, lumpy rock sitting on the edge of a crater that scientists dubbed “Jade Rabbit” because of its shape.

What will be the next amazing images that await us on the Martian horizon?

Edited by Felipe Espinosa Wang.

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