Stonehenge-style rocks spotted on MARS: Bizarre circular stone formation on the red planet resembles the iconic Pagan site
- Alien hunters claim to have spotted a stone circle on the surface of Mars
- They claim it resembles the famous Stonehenge formation in Wiltshire
- However, experts have warned that stone circles can also form naturally
- It is the latest in a long line of strange 'objects' spotted in images of Mars
From floating spoons and coffins to crabs and pyramids, alien hunters are often reporting strange structures in images beamed back from the surface of Mars.
Now, the latest 'discovery' seen using high-resolution images of the Martian surface, a mysterious circle of stones have been spotted on top of a raised mound on the planet.
Dubbed 'Marshenge', alien enthusiasts have been comparing it to the famous stone circle at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
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A stone circle that has been compared to Stonehenge has been spotted in images sent back by a spacecraft orbiting the red planet. Dubbed 'Marshenge', alien hunters have seized on the images but experts say it could be created by natural processes which cause rocks to be 'sorted' in freeze and thaw cycles of permafrost
The strange cluster of stones has already triggered theories that it may have been built by aliens.
However, experts have in the past said such stone circles may form as a result of natural processes that also occur here on Earth.
WHAT IS PAREIDOLIA?
Many scientists believe that seeing strange objects, such as a 'coffin' on Mars, is simple a case of pareidolia.
This is a psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random places.
It is a form of apophenia, which is when people see patterns or connections in unconnected data.
There have been multiple occasions when people have claimed to see religious images and themes in unexpected places, especially the faces of religious figures.
Many involve images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the word Allah.
For example, in September 2007 a callus on a tree resembled a monkey, leading believers in Singapore to pay homage to the Monkey god.
Another famous instance was when Mary's face was a grilled cheese sandwich. Images of Jesus have even been spotted inside the lid of a jar of Marmite and in a potato.
For example, the freeze-thaw cycle of permafrost can cause sediment to churn and separate by grain size that can cause boulders or large rocks to produce stone circles or polygons on low slopes.
The stone circle was highlighted on the Facebook page of a group called Journey to the Surface of the Mars, which regularly pinpoints unusual 'alien' features.
In a video posted on YouTube, however, one self-confessed alien hunter calling himself Mr Enigma, said: 'It looks eerily similar to what we have here on Earth.
'I'm just saying there is something strange about this area and that it looks very much like the mysterious ancient stones of Stonehenge.
'Could the builders of Stonehenge have visited Mars and did they build the same thing there or did we have visitors teach us how to build these things and do the same for long lost beings on mars as well, or is this just another face on mars illusion.'
Nigel Watson, author of The UFO Investigations Manual, said 'Marshenge' was likely to strengthen the determination of those who believe ancient monuments like Stonehenge were built by aliens.
He said: 'Pyramid structures have been regularly spotted on Mars that have been linked to the ancient pyramids of Earth, now with Marshenge we have a link with our earlier prehistoric structures.
The stone circle (pictured) was spotted on an apparently raised hummock in images of the Martian surface captured by the HiRise camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Stonehenge has both captivated and baffled experts for decades and its exact purpose is still unclear. There are many theories that surround it, including from some who believe it was built by aliens
'The scorn of the sceptics have failed to erode such theories and with the discovery of Marshenge, it builds an even stronger case to suggest astronauts in the past visited our Solar System and had an enduring impact on human history.
'At present it is a huge leap of the imagination to compare Marshenge with the likes of Stonehenge, for example, we do not know the scale of these objects or what they look like in any detail.
'Up close they could prove to be random stones cast up by marsquakes - the equivalent of earthquakes - in its distant past.'
A wide range of familiar objects have been spotted in images sent back by spacecraft and rovers on Mars, including a spoon (pictured) apparently floating in mid air and other pieces of cutlery like a chopstick (inset)
Earlier this month, alien hunters say they spotted a mysterious 'facehugger crab' on Mars hiding in a cave
Stonehenge on Earth has long been associated with supernatural folktales and stories that it had been built by aliens.
Little is known about what the site was actually used for when it was built in around 3,100BC.
Many experts believe it was used for religious ceremonies or to mark the summer solstice.
Others believe it served as a meeting point for the surrounding areas or even for prehistoric people to monitor the heavens.
Earlier this month archaeologists announced the discovery of another line of standing stones around a mile away from Stonehenge that dates back 4,500 years.
The buried stones were found along the south-eastern edge of what later became known as the Durrington Walls 'superhenge' – a circular earthworks a third of a mile across.
An unusual rock (left) spotted in Nasa's archives of images sent back from Mars was claimed to have a striking resemblance to a fossilised iguana (right)
Conspiracy theorists can't seem to get enough of the shadowy images sent by Nasa's Mars Curiosity Rover. In one recent 'discovery', they claim to have spotted the Star Destroyer from Star Wars
The stone circle on Mars was spotted in images captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRise, camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
It is the latest in a number of 'mysterious' objects seen in images of the surface of Mars.
Recently these have included a coffin-shaped rock, another shaped like a Star Destroyer from the film Star Wars, a crab-like creature shaped like a facehugger from Alien and cutlery.
Nasa rarely comments on these claims but in August a one of its scientists spoke out on the topic to insist that the agency was not trying to hide evidence of alien life from the general public.,
Ashwin Vasavada, who works on the Mars Curiosity Rover mission, said: 'There is no group that would be happier to see such a thing than the 500 scientists around the world who work on this Curiosty rover.
'So far we haven't seen anything that is so obvious that it would be similar to what these claims are.'
Instead he said the sightings were a form of pareidolia, a psychological response that causes the mind to see familiar objects in random places.
In his book Mars, a Warmer Wetter Planet, Jeffrey Kargel, a senior scientist at the department of hydrology at the University of Arizona, said stone circles could appear on Mars as a result of natural geological activity.
He said: 'Hummocky patterned ground on Mars is probably closely related to permafrost 'stone circles' and other forms of sorted terrain on Earth.
'Sorted stone circles and permafrost hummocks form in extreme polar environments where melting is minimal and this alone should caution us from drawing too definitive conclusions regarding Martian processes.'
Archaeologists recently revealed they had discovered a huge line of giant stones up to 15 ft tall around a mile away from Stonehenge (illustrated). The stones are thought to date back more than 4,500 years
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