The Joe Rogan Experience
A square structure discovered on the surface of Mars, has the whole of the internet talking, including Joe Rogan and Elon Musk.
As one of the closest planets to Earth, it's no surprise us humans are fascinated with learning more about Mars and the possibility of there being life on the neighbouring Red Planet.
Everyday we're learning more about the Mars such as its monstrous dust storms, and there are always images of the planet's surface that prompt online discussion such as a rock looking like a human face or unexplored holes.
This square is the latest talking point and it all started when images became circulating on social media of the grey object which quickly when viral.
With it's perfect shape, you could easily assume it's manmade, with people speculating it's a sign of alien life (though it should be noted the viral images were edited to make the square shape clearer for people to see).
The photo even caught the attention of popular podcaster Joe Rogan who reshared the post and declared: "This is f**king WILD."
His reaction then prompted Space X and X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk to reply to Rogan: "We should send astronauts to Mars to investigate!"
So what exactly are we looking at here?
The image was taken by the Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in 2001 and according to Arizona State University's Mars image explorer, the area shown is about 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) across.
In particular, the square is located at the top of a part of a creator on the planet when the photo is zoomed out.
While many may be in disbelief that a perfectly shaped square could just appear on the surface of Mars like that, structures like this can turn up in nature. For example we only need to look at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, a natural wonder which if an alien discovered it, they may believe it to be man-made.
Therefore, this could be a case of pareidolia - where you see a pattern or image of something that doesn't exist.
Elsewhere, scientists now know what causes the monstrous dust storms on Mars, and scientists discover mounds on Mars are hiding secrets of planet's past.
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