NASA’s Curiosity rover has taken some of the best photos of the Martian surface. There are both professional and amateur researchers who love reviewing and examining these incredible photos. And sometimes, those reviewing these photos claim incredible discoveries on Mars.
On May 29, Fox News published a story about a photo taken by Curiosity on September 28, 2012 that some believe shows a rat on Mars. Fox News explained, “The ‘creature’ was identified on the UFO Sightings Daily website, where its finder, Scott C. Waring, held tight to his opinion: That’s one darn cute rodent on Mars.” UFO Sightings Daily‘s information came from a video posted to YouTube by user UFO HuntingClouds on December 3, 2012. The video’s description on YouTube reads, “Here is a photo of a guinea pig photographed on Mars by the Curiosity Rover SOL 52! When zoomed in you can clearly see the animals face sticking out.”
Although some view this Martian object as a rodent, Fox News points out that others believe “the similarity in coloring and position mean it was most likely just a rock, fingering the psychology phenomenon known as pareidolia, a propensity to pick out faces from everyday objects and structures.”
Also on Wednesday, May 29, a similar story was published by both the Metro and the Daily Mail. But these stories are about a photo allegedly showing a lizard on Mars. And like the previous photo, the source for this claim is a YouTube video uploaded by UFO HuntingClouds. This video was uploaded on May 14, 2013, and its description states, “Here is a lizard that was found in a Mars Curiosity photo! This lizard clearly has an eye and a tail as well as all the other features that are common with lizards here on Earth.” However, the Metro suggests that “there could be digital trickery involved as the San Francisco Chronicle commented that in the original photo, the object appeared just as a rock . . .”
The original NASA photo of the alleged rodent can be viewed HERE.
The original NASA photo of the alleged lizard can be viewed HERE.
What do you think about these photos? Do they prove life on Mars, or are these, as Fox News suggests, illustrations of pareidolia? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
