page_title: Pareidolia
hierarchical_section_title: Pareidolia
caption_attribution_description: English: The “Face on Mars” was one of the most striking and remarkable images taken during the Viking missions to the red planet (the black specks represent data errors). Unmistakeably resembling a human face, the image caused many to hypothesize that it was the work of an extraterrestrial civilization. Later images revealed that it was a mundane feature rendered face-like by the angle of the Sun. Deutsch: Ausschnitt aus der „Marsgesicht“-Aufnahme der NASA-Sonde Viking&#160;I vom 25. Juli 1976, die eine Formation der Cydonia-Region in der nördlichen Hemisphäre des Planeten Mars zeigt.
context_page_description: Pareidolia parr-i-DOH-lee-ə) is a word form Ancient Greek to describe the phenomenon, that the human mind often perceives familiar patterns in a stimulus, even when they are not there.
  Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, the "man in the moon", the "moon rabbit", and hidden messages within recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds.
  Pareidolia is a special case of clustering illusion.
context_section_description: Pareidolia /pærɨˈdoʊliə/ parr-i-DOH-lee-ə) is a word form Ancient Greek to describe the phenomenon, that the human mind often perceives familiar patterns in a stimulus, even when they are not there.
  Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, the "man in the moon", the "moon rabbit", and hidden messages within recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds.
  Pareidolia is a special case of clustering illusion.
caption: Satellite photo of a mesa in the Cydonia region of Mars, often called the "Face on Mars". This was given as evidence of extraterrestrial habitation. Later higher-resolution photos from other viewpoints demonstrated that the "face" is in fact a natural rock formation.
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