Spiders on Mars? Here's what they really are according to the European Space Agency | Image

Photos recently posted on social profiles byEuropean Space Agency (ESA), where small black spots resembling spiders appear on the surface of Mars. What is it actually about? Obviously, although it looks like one of these spiders, it is not really a spider. This phenomenon actually has an explanation.

What happens every spring?

“Spiders On Mars? No, these dark spots, seen from the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft on the outskirts of an area called the “Inca City” in Mars' south polar region, have a more “Earthly” explanation.“, researchers from the European Space Agency wrote about a colony of spiders. But that's not what it's about.

There are no spiders Mattian. What was immortalized by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft is nothing more than a phenomenon occurring on Earth Marty When spring arrives on this planet. The ones that look like arachnids are 45 meters in diameter – not exactly small, in short – and are actually gas leak conduits. But let's clarify.

On Mars, one year is equivalent to 687 Earth days. The winter season specifically lasts 154 days (in the Northern Hemisphere, the cold season ended on December 26, 2022, while in the Southern Hemisphere it began on January 12, 2024). Winter temperatures on Mars reach -123 degrees Celsius, and snow and glaciers form carbon dioxide. With the advent of Martian spring, glaciers crack, forming real rivers Geyser From which steam comes out. Gas accumulating underground and released outside can carry dust, which then settles on the surface of the heater. Hence the strange formations that almost resemble spiders.

How does the mind deceive the human eye?

The reason we see hundreds of spiders when observing the Martian soil lies in our minds. In psychology we talk about it Pareidoliaor pareidolithic illusion, is the unconscious illusion that leads us to trace objects and structures to known images that actually have completely random shapes.

That is why instead of Martian geysers we see many small spiders.

Spiders on Mars?

No, these dark spots, seen by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft on the outskirts of an area called the “Inca City” in the south polar region of Mars, have a more “realistic” explanation… pic.twitter.com/1A31L2iOMN

— European Space Agency (@esa) April 24, 2024