This odd-shaped Martian impact crater looks like an ear: See pic

What do you see in this picture - an ear? In reality, this picture shows an impact crater on Mars which looks a great deal like a big ear. Well, this is a case of pareidolia - a psychological phenomenon where we see features like faces and patterns where they do not really exist. Simply put, when your mind tries to make sense of the unknown, it is called pareidolia.

Captured by the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), this Martian crater is just over 1,800 meters across. It is located in Chryse Planitia in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars.

HiPOD: Can You Hear Me Now?Is it pareidolia, where we see patterns where they do not really exist, if the shape really does resemble something? In this case, we’re looking at an odd-shaped impact crater that looks a great deal like an ear. https://t.co/kytYNPSXIr pic.twitter.com/YLSulLwP8U

— HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) (@HiRISE) August 5, 2022

HiRISE is the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet. It was launched in 2005 and is one of six instruments onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It operates in visible wavelengths, the same as human eyes, but with a telescopic lens that produces images at resolutions never before seen in planetary exploration missions.

The HiRISE camera also makes observations at near-infrared wavelengths to obtain information on the mineral groups present.

More Mars Pareidolia

There are many examples of how humans have this natural tendency to see recognizable shapes in objects or data that are otherwise not familiar. Recently, the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission also beamed back a picture of a massive Martian crater that looked like a human eyeball.

In May 2022, NASA's Curiosity rover snapped something that looked like a tiny doorway on Mars. What looked like an alien doorway was actually a natural geological feature. It was a small crevice between 2 fractures in a Martian rock.