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The red planet has astronomers intrigued once again after the NASA Mars Orbiter discovered a strange formation on its surface that resembled a bear's face.
The rock formation triggered the pareidolia - the human tendency to perceive random patterns as familiar objects - of netizens once it was shared online.
According to scientists, however, the resemblance is simply a coincidence owing to the presence of twin craters and a distinct "snout-like hill" on the ursine rock formation.
“There’s a hill with a V-shaped collapse structure (the nose), two craters (the eyes), and a circular fracture pattern (the head),” according to University of Arizona professor Alfred McEwen.
He explained further, “The circular fracture pattern might be due to the settling of deposit over a buried impact crater. Maybe the nose is a volcanic or mud vent and the deposit could be lava or mud flows?”
The formation reportedly measures nearly 2,000 metres in diameter.
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