Mars Rover Spirit image -- what do you think of this?

[Duer 157099]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=509693&in_page_id=1770

Original images here:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/panoramas/spirit/

(high res orig image - add "http" in front of the slashes - //photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA10214.jpg

Please no snarkiness, I know it'll be hard to resist, but I'm curious about some logical explanations for what seem to be optical illusions. Once you see the human-like figure, it's hard to trick your brain into seeing anything else, but that's exactly how optical illusions work.

Thing is, I see a couple of additional figures, but then I have a good imagination!

I've circled the 3 images that I can see -- do you see them?

[soleft]

1. You're not kidding!

It's hard to resist!

Actually the top one is a little freaky.

[Duer 157099]

3. I know!

The second one, just to the right of the "sitting lady" looks like a guy diving for cover beneath the ledge, with his elbow sticking up in the air. And the one on the right looks like he's running back to these other two.

Weird huh???

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Honestly, I can only see a 'big-foot' in the one on the left. The other 2 look like rocks.

[trotsky]

4. So you're looking for logical explanations.

The logical explanation is that it's being recognized by your brain as a human figure.

Is that not sufficient? Much like the bally-hooed "face on Mars", it's probably very likely that viewed from a slightly different angle or with slightly different lighting, it looks nothing like a person.

What's your point?

[Duer 157099]

8. Why do I have to have a point?

Sometimes just posting things for curiosities sake is enough, no? This is the science forum after all.

Points belong in GDP.

[trotsky]

9. It just seemed from the tone of your post...

that unless someone had a suitable "logical explanation" for the image, well then it must be a human-like alien living on Mars!

[Duer 157099]

15. Frankly, no; that was not the intended tone at all

If anything, I'd like someone to demonstrate another way of looking at the shapes so that I "don't* see the figures that I see -- like when shown one of those images that can be interpreted in 2 ways and how unless someone points out the alternate way, it's difficult to see it (sometimes even when they *do* show you it's still hard to see).

Here, this is a classic example of what I'm talking about:

[Duer 157099]

5. Here are closer views:

[tekisui]

7. Those are very strange rocks compared to the surrounding landscape

at least. If the are rocks, they look carved.

Very interesting.

[pansypoo53219]

12. why is the roadrunner on mars?

little mermaid i understand, but roadrunner?

[tekisui]

6. Maybe that explains the longevity of the craft.

Martian mechanics are keeping it going.

[tinrobot]

10. Looks about right

I doubt a guy in an ape suit could breathe pure carbon dioxide, however.

[unpossibles]

11. the one on the right looks most 'rock-like' of all of the rocks

the middle one looks like a dog's head to me, and the one on the left is paddling a canoe.

[mainegreen]

13. Aren't those rocks like 2 feet from the camera?

That would make the 'man' and the 'dog' all of what, three inches? Micro Midgets on Mars?

Your brain is hardwired by millions of years of evolution to quickly pick out certain shapes from any background, with a strong tendency towards false positives.

False Positive=you get stressed out unnecessarily, but are less likely to be eaten.
False Negative=you die or fail to recognize a mate. Both bad.

[Duer 157099]

14. Martian action figures? Lilliputians?

:D

[Cobalt-60]

16. It's a Martian Yeti!

This pretty much has to be an illusion.
But it isn't the first time.
I was sure there was a rusted out '48 Packard in the first
Viking photos too...

[Phoonzang]

17. Kind of looks like

[Fearless]

18. They're ridges and nothing more

The rightmost is the easiest to see... a rock and shadow. The top one is hardest to discern, but if you go to the link and look at the second picture, it too is clearly just a rocky outcropping.

[Random_Australian]

19. I see a rock. And two more rocks.

(Actually, I can see that it looks vaguely human-esque, but it isn't like I can't see it any other way)

[greyl]

20. It looks just like pareidolia. nt

[hunter]

21. Why did the guy sitting on the rock smack the guy crawling away?

Is he just going to keep sitting there yelling and shaking his stick, or will he try to prevent the other guy from riding away on his sand-frog?

Tune in next week, same time, same channel!

:P

[frogmarch]

22. I read that NASA says the figure on the left is about

2 inches tall and is formed from rocks. Nothing to see here, folks.

[Duer 157099]

23. Of *course* they say that

;)

[PhD]

25. Two-inch Martian rock men?

We're doomed!!!

[n2doc]

24. Revealed at last, the true interpretation!