Show Mobile Navigation
Space |

10 Astounding Examples of Pareidolia In Outer Space




Horsehead Nebula

Ic434 Mtm




The Face on Mars

Pio Med





Tinker Bell or The Space Hummingbird
Three Galaxies




The Elephant on Mars

Screen Shot 2013-06-09 At 7.43.51 Pm




The Crowned Face

Screen Shot 2013-06-09 At 7.45.11 Pm




The Hand of Space
PSR B1509-58


In what I believe to be one of the most beautiful examples of deep space pareidolia, we have an image taken of a pulsar called PSR B1509-58. The image of the 150-lightyear-wide nebula was captured by the Chandra Observatory telescope.

The rapidly rotating neutron star, or “pulsar”, is only twelve miles across—yet it has enough power to twist and sculpt the space around the nebula into the beautiful hand-like object we see in the photo. This hand appears to be almost reaching out to touch space itself.


The Martian Mermaid

Screen Shot 2013-06-09 At 7.47.06 Pm

Another recent example of Martian pareidolia involved a human-like figure, caught in mid-stride (almost Bigfoot-like) as it ambles across the Martian surface.  Or is it a Martian mermaid, sitting on a rock with its tail laid out?  The original image was taken by the Mars Spirit rover on the surface of what scientists have dubbed “home plate”, a ninety mile (145km) plateau region in the Columbia Hills of Mars.  

The photo was responsible for all manner of conspiracy theories, accusing NASA of attempting to cover up clear proof that life exists on Mars. According to one astronomer, however, the photo depicts nothing but “a funky little bizarre wind-carved rock formation.”

When viewed as part of the complete rover image, you can see just how tiny the “Mars Mermaid” or “Martian Bigfoot” really is—about six centimeters tall.


Death Star and Pac Man

Screen Shot 2013-06-09 At 7.47.48 PmMimas, one of Saturn’s moons, was already the famous owner of one example of pareidolia. When the Voyager spacecraft returned images of Saturn’s moons in the early 1980s, only several years had passed since the release of “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”. This film, as many of the readers will know, featured the gigantic “Death Star”, with its powerful radar dish-like super laser. So when people saw the Voyager images of Mimas for the first time, and in particular the giant crater “Herschel”, they instantly recognized the similarity between Mimas and The Death Star.

But Mimas had a second example of pareidolia in store for humans—this one even more strange than the first. When the Cassini spacecraft orbited Mimas in 2010, it used a thermal infrared spectrometer to map the planet in infrared. What they saw in the images baffled the scientists—and was instantly recognized by ordinary citizens as a giant depiction of the arcade game Pac Man.  

The colorful map’s yellow spots have the highest surface temperature, and its blue spots have the lowest. Scientists were baffled because they expected the higher temperatures to be along the equator of the moon, where the sun was shining directly on Mimas when Cassini flew by. Instead, Mimas proved once again that the moons of our solar system are fascinating of their own account—for the exact opposite was found to be true.

Scientists speculated that the strange results may have been caused by different densities in the ice covering the moon’s surface. Another scientist was quoted as saying: “it has to be a thermal inertia thing.” Sure.


Space Wood
Eta Carina Nebula

Screen Shot 2013-06-09 at 7.55.40 PM

In this picture, your eye might naturally drift to the center—and if so, you’ll find yourself looking at what I call “Space Wood”, a pareidolia of phallic-like protuberance.

Taken by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, the photo shows a region of young star formation in the Eta Carina Nebula. Spitzer has captured a stellar nursery in action more than ten thousand lightyears away. Thick, huge, dark pillars of dust (in pink) house young stars being formed (in white and yellow). With infrared, Spitzer can show how the young stars destroy the clouds of gas and dust from which they are born. In fact, the image shows a titanic battle between older “first generation” stars, and the young stars still being formed.

One interesting first generation star in the system is Eta Carinae, which pumps out more energy than one million of our own suns.  In the 1840s (bearing in mind the slight delay), Eta Carinae put out a burst of so much energy that it temporarily became the second-brightest star in the heavens.


The Space Finger
Carina Nebula

Carina Hst

Another image of the Carina nebula—apparently showing space flipping us the bird—inspired viewers around the world to look for other examples of space pareidolia. If you would like to search for some examples yourself, go to this zoomable image of the Carina Nebula.


The Martian Rat/Lizard

Alien, 2, Ufo, Ufos, Sighting, Sightings, Space, Nasa, Esa, Top Secret, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber, News, World, Paranormal, Astronomy, Biology, Science, Life, Dna, Animal, Rodent, Mouse, Rat, Mars, Curiosity, Rover

Even while I was working on this list, a new example of pareidolia popped up. The Mars Curiosity Rover snapped a photograph of the Martian terrain, and someone with a lot of free time found what appears to be a lizard, or long-tailed rat. Is there enough water on Mars to sustain small animals?  Is it possible that a lizard or rat, similar to our own, could evolve and live on Mars?  Or is it merely the case that NASA is secretly shipping freeze-dried rodents and lizards on board the rovers so they can be dropped off for future “discovery”, and hence, government funding? Once again—you decide.

Patrick Weidinger has been a contributor of lists to Lisverse for over three years. His list topics frequently involve tales of history, science, and survival.