http://www.msss.com/education/facepage/face.html
2006-09-04 07:33:01 · 27 answers · asked by Jimmer 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
No
Our brain is hardwired to see faces - its called Pareidolia - a psychological phenomenom whereby one sees faces from random arrangements of shapes.
2006-09-04 07:40:24 · answer #1 · answered by Vinni and beer 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Not really, it is located near the northern plains were there once were ocean beds.
The face, known as Cydonian mesas, has a striking appearance of a human Face. It is generally believed to be an optical illusion others view it as evidence of a long-lost Martian civilisation. Other features are argued to have been observed, such as apparent pyramids. A popular belief is that these are part of a ruined city. NASA has stated however that "a detailed analysis of multiple images of this feature reveals a natural-looking Martian hill whose illusory face-like appearance depends on viewing angle and angle of illumination. So basically from far away yeah we have a face on mars, but up close it's just a pile of martian dirt.
2006-09-04 07:42:00 · answer #2 · answered by Shebon 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It caused quite a stir a few years back in 1976 when NASA's Viking1 space probe showed what appeared to be a human-like face. For years it was a talking point and inspired sci-fi and alien believers.
Then more photographs were taken by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) on April 5, 1998 from different angles and sharper imaging technology and it showed that it was nothing but shadows on plain terrain playing on the human brain - we are wired to 'see' human faces very easily.
2006-09-04 10:44:18 · answer #3 · answered by r b 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it's a natural rock formation. It just happened to look like a face in the first pictures because of the lighting- and the fact that human brains have evolved to pick faces out wherever there is even the slightest hint of one.
2006-09-04 07:37:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
This is such a well known lie that snopes doesn't even have it on their site.
There is a hill that, in certain light looks somewhat like a face. We have taken pictures of it under other lighting though (at different times) and it looks nothing like a face.
It is important to remember that it is in human nature to see faces in everything... we see the man on the moon, profiles on mountain peaks here on Earth and even know that two dots and a curved line represent a happy face. :) When you were little you probably saw faces in bushes, the paint on your walls and other busy patterns.
2006-09-04 07:41:02 · answer #5 · answered by iMi 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No, it's not a face. Early pictures were very low resolution and people inferred that a face was present. Subsequent high resolution photos show that it is NOT a face, not even close. Visit the NASA website for further information.
2006-09-04 07:39:49 · answer #6 · answered by The ~Muffin~ Man 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
As has been said it's just a coincidence and we look for these things, like seeing a face in the moon (it's a rabbit in Australia) and seeing clouds in the shape of familiar objects.
2006-09-04 07:41:45 · answer #7 · answered by emread2002 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Only when the lighting is at the correct angle. It is just a landscape formation that appears as a face when lit from a certain angle.
2006-09-04 07:39:56 · answer #8 · answered by marsel_duchamp 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. It is a lighting effect. Seen with sunlight from a different angle it looks nothing like a face.
2006-09-04 07:47:01 · answer #9 · answered by keefer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No not actually a face but some stioulateinnate mechanisms in the brain that can recognise spatial organisations as faces, this might explain why people see it as face.
2006-09-04 07:38:13 · answer #10 · answered by bigbowlofsalad 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋