NASA found a similar tree trunk in the Martian crater

Mars would be a very boring place for a birder. There are no birds—or any other form of life that we are currently aware of—on the Red Planet. The next best thing to the crossover crowd of birdwatchers and space fans is a fantastic Martian landscape composition that looks like a treecup when seen from orbit. Mars’ latest example is pareidolia—the human tendency to see familiar shapes in random objects.

The high-resolution imaging science experiment camera is part of NASA’s spacecraft that has been hovering above the red planet since 2006. The camera captured the bird in a similar fashion in May. “This image reveals some bright material on the floor of a creek, part of which forms a woodcut-like outline,” wrote HiRise principal investigator Alfred McEwen in a July 11 photo of the day film. The woodpecker, known for its red-headed feathers and repetitive laughter.

The coincidental structure may be associated with the history of water on the red planet. “This luminous material appears to have accumulated in relatively low topographic areas, perhaps luminous materials carried and deposited by water in Mars’ past,” McEwen said. “Concentric troughs (Darkupan bodies) may be collapse features as seen elsewhere nearby.” Mars is a very dry place today, but it hasn’t always been that way. NASA’s Perseverance rover, for example, explores the remains of a lake and the river delta in the Gizero Crater.

Mars has a way of reminding us of home through the power of paredolia. It’s the same phenomenon that allows us to see sheep or dragons in cloud-flecked shapes here on Earth. Martian rocks can look like an avocado, a sea creature or a Star Trek symbol. MRO looked down on Mars in late 2022 and saw a surface structure that resembled a bear’s face, complete with springs for eyes and forming the broken pattern of rounded heads.

The HiRise team—based out of the University of Arizona—regularly shares interesting photos like woodpeckers and bears. The imaginary children are part of the camera crew’s public outreach efforts.

One of the most famous examples of Martian pareidolia is the image of the face on Mars taken by NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft, one of NASA’s early missions to the red planet. A low-resolution image from the mission showed a mound that looked like a human face. MRO’s fresh look for the “face” in 2023 highlighted how sometimes a hill is just a hill.

The MRO images are a testament to the ongoing work of the powerful HiRise camera. It takes beautiful pictures, but it also helps scientists better understand the geological processes at work on Mars. “Our camera’s high-resolution capability (imaging up to 30 centimeters per pixel) for any existing orbit remains unprecedented in Red Planet research, and is an indispensable tool to help select landing sites for robotic and future human exploration.” the HiRise team said in a statement.

The formation of the woodpeckers in the ditch should recall the acoustic memories of Woody’s persistent laughter. It makes Mars — a planet 140 million miles from Earth — feel a little closer to home.