Watch Fascinating Illusions and Pareidolia--Top 10 Weirdest Mars Illusions and Pareidolia

Pareidolia  is a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none actually exists.

Pareidolia can cause people to interpret random images, or patterns of light and shadow, as faces. A psychological phenomenon that stimulates a vague perception is known as Pareidolia. The word ‘Pareidolia’ comes from the Greek language and it means ‘wrong image’. It can be anything that triggers the brain to misperceive the most random image in our surroundings, which can be as random as seeing a face in the clouds, a rabbit in the moon or hearing a hidden message when a recorded audio is played in reverse. Such strange coincidences are inevitable and are impossible to resist.

This occurrence was first associated with psychotic people, but today scientists describe it as a natural tendency of human beings to search for meanings in our environment, since they are hardwired in our brains. Our brains have the ability to distinguish a face from any irrelevant objects in just one-fifth of a second. This activity is performed in an area of the brain called the fusiform gyrus, which arouses the need to recognize familiarly acquainted images. Sometimes, these illusions can be so convincing that people are compelled to turn illusions into delusions.

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.

Top 10 Weirdest Mars Illusions and Pareidolia

Ever since Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli described his discovery of canals on Mars in 1877 and American astronomer Percival Lowell started to map them, we humans have been fascinated with the Red Planet. Although the canals were nothing more than a case of mistaken identity and our technology has come a long way since Schiaparelli and Lowell's telescopes, Mars continues to serve up its fair share of illusions, hoaxes and misunderstandings.In the case of Mars, pareidolia makes us see bigfoot, parrots, flowers and faces in the otherwise barren orange landscape.

10) A Volcanic Elephant

"The Mars Elephant" -- NASA Mars Reconnassance Orbiter (HiRISE), 2012 NASA/JPL-CALTECH/UNIV. OF ARIZ

9) Rolling Stones Logo

Rolling Stones Logo -- NASA Mars Reconnassance Orbiter (HiRISE), 2011 NASA/JPL-CALTECH/UNIV. OF ARIZ.

8) The "Morchid"

The Mars Flower' -- NASA Mars Science Laboratory, 2012 NASA/JPL-CALTECH

7) The Smiling Crater

The Smiling Crater" -- NASA Mars Global Surveyor, 1999 NASA

6) A Dead Parrot

"The Mars Parrot" -- NASA Mars Global Surveyor, 2002 NASA/JPL-CALTECH

5) Alien Artifacts

Alien artifacts? -- NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, 2008 NASA/JPL-CALTECH

4) Bigfoot! (Littlefoot?)

"Mars Bigfoot" (a.k.a. "Mars Yeti") -- NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, 2008 NASA/JPL-CALTECH

3) The Tree-Lined Hills of Mars

Trees on Mars? -- NASA Mars Reconnassance Orbiter (HiRISE), 2011 NASA/JPL-CALTECH/UNIV. OF ARIZ.

2) Mars Rat, Possibly a Gopher

The Mars Rat" -- NASA Mars Science Laboratory, 2012 NASA/JPL-CALTECH

1) The Face of Mars

'The Face of Mars' -- NASA Viking 1 Orbiter, 1976 NASA/JPL-CALTECH

                            FRIENDS!!!!! Are they FASCINATING??????

So, the next time you see a face in your soup or a horse in the clouds, be sure it is nothing, but a Pareidolia occurring to you!

For more best Pareidolia images taken from our surroundings, which will definitely bring a smile on your face!!!!!
VISIT
http://www.fiboni.com/2013/09/pareidolia-illusions-at-their-best/


Ref;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia
http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space

RESULTS of NASA Tests Zero-gravity's Effect on Astronauts' Brains

                   NASA Tests Zero-gravity's Effect on Astronauts' Brains

NASA tests human brains in zero gravity

Previous studies have showed that human physical condition and control over extremities change under the influence of zero gravity.Astronauts have complained about recurring problems regarding body balance and perceptual illusions.

There are several tests and tasks an astronaut has to perform before taking a ride to space such as obstacle courses to test their physical fitness and agility, test of spatial memory, which is the ability to visualise a three-dimensional picture. The astronauts undergo these tests thrice - before, mid-way and at the end of a standard six-month spaceflight.

According to Dr Rachael D Seidler, principal investigator and director at the University of Michigan's neuromotor behaviour laboratory, both the behavioural assessment and brain imaging are important for identifying the link between the brain's physical changes and those in behaviour.

Here are five out-of-the-world facts about human body zero gravity:

1. Growing tall is a common phenomenon in space. In zero gravity, the spine expands freely, causing the person grow in height. An average person can grow up to 3 percent of his or her current height in space.

2. Distribution of blood changes in space. Due to Earth's gravity, blood runs more to the lower extremities of human body. But in space, the process changes and astronauts have puffier faces and thinner legs according to blood flow.

3. Astronauts often face difficulty in remembering the fact that Earth has gravity once they come back. Dropping things and breaking them is very common among them.

4. Muscle mass, that gives you the strength to lift your body and move around, reduces in amount in space. This happens as the body starts shedding muscle mass because it does not need much to operate in zero gravity. Same thing happens to bone density. Astronauts have to work out for at least two hours a day to keep their muscle mass and bone density in proper shape.

5. In space, it's hard to sleep. Astronauts have reported seeing bright flashes of light while they were trying to rest. These flashes are actually cosmic rays that travel in space. They make it difficult to get some shut-eye!

Old post--
The US space agency is examining changes in both brain structure and function in astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) to determine how long it takes for them to recover after returning from space.

Previous research and first-hand reports suggest that humans have a harder time controlling physical movement and completing mental tasks in microgravity.

 Astronauts have experienced problems with balance and perceptual illusions - feeling as if, for example, they are switching back and forth between right-side-up and upside down.

NASA researchers are using both behavioural assessments and brain imaging.

Astronauts complete timed obstacle courses and tests of their spatial memory, or the ability to mentally picture and manipulate a three-dimensional shape, before and after spaceflight.

The spatial memory test also is performed aboard the ISS, along with sensory motor adaptation tests and computerised exercises requiring them to move and think simultaneously.

Astronauts are tested shortly after arriving aboard the station, mid-way through and near the end of a six-month flight.

"We are looking at the volume of different structures in the brain and whether they change in size or shape during spaceflight,” said principal investigator Rachael D Seidler, director of University of Michigan’s neuromotor behaviour laboratory in a statement.

Functional MRIs involve astronauts completing a task during the imaging which will show researchers which parts of the brain they rely on to do so.

According to Seidler, both the behavioural assessment and brain imaging are important to help identify the relationship between physical changes in the brain and those in behaviour.

"On Earth, vestibular - or balance - system tells how  head moves relative to gravity but in space, the gravity reference is gone,” 

"That causes these perceptual illusions, as well as difficulty coordinating movement of the eyes and head.” 

These difficulties could have serious consequences for astronauts, especially when changing between gravitational environments, such as landing on Mars.

In those cases, astronauts will need to be able to perform tasks such as using tools and driving a rover, and they must be capable of escape in a landing emergency.

Identifying the physical mechanisms behind changes in behaviour and how much time it takes to adapt will help researchers determine how best to help space explorers compensate.

The results could also reveal whether astronauts return to “normal” post-flight because the brain changes back, or if the brain instead learns to compensate for the changes that happened in space.




Ref:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/world