There are people all over the world that are holding their breath waiting for the next images to come back from Perseverance as it makes its way around Mars, taking pictures and documenting its trip.
If you asked any of them what they were least expecting to hear, it’s that a “cat” has been spotted. It really looks like a cat ready to pounce (or sitting still, depending on how you look at it).
The reason it looks like that to us is pareidolia, which is a behavior particular to human beings. We see meaningful images in random patterns – faces in plug sockets, animals in clouds, rocks and leaves and any number of other inanimate objects that appear to be something alive.
According to Wikipedia Pareidolia is:
Pareidolia is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none.
Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, seeing faces in inanimate objects, or lunar pareidolia like the Man in the Moon or the Moon rabbit. The concept of pareidolia may extend to include hidden messages in recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds, and hearing voices (mainly indistinct) or music in random noise, such as that produced by air conditioners or fans.[3][4]
Scientists have taught computers to use visual clues to “see” faces and other images.[5]
Here are some other images from Mars like look like realistic objects:
