Faces In Space: Planets, Celestial Formations That Look Like Visages (PHOTOS)

When you stare up into space, some things stare back. No, not aliens. But these "faces in space" are formations on planets, stars or clouds of gas that look uncannily like visages.

Scroll down for photos.

You've probably heard of the "Man in the Moon" or the face on Mars, but what about the Cookie Monster on Mercury or the eyelike Helix Nebula?

Psychologists have a name for the phenomenon that makes people see faces on inanimate objects. It's called pareidolia, and it's helped people identify patterns in space for millennia -- the constellations are a particularly old example.

They may not be the evidence of alien life that UFOlogists are looking for, but even the most skeptical among us can agree that these faces in space are fascinating fixtures of our universe.

Check out the slideshow below for 10 "faces in space," and next time you're staring out into the sky, give 'em a wink.

• Mars Face

  Taken in 1976 by the Viking 1 probe, this photo caused a stir until later, higher-resolution photos showed that the "face" was actually just a consequence of shadows falling in a particular way.

• Mickey On Mercury

  NASA's Messenger orbiter spotted <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/mickey-mercury-nasa-crater-messenger-orbiter_n_1605610.html">this jolly little set of craters</a> in Mercury's southern hemisphere in June, 2012.

• Cookie Monster On Mercury

  NASA's Messenger mission also snapped <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/cookie-monster-craters-mercury-nasa-photo_n_1962053.html">this set of craters that resemble the Sesame Street character</a>. The photo, taken in October, 2012.

• Mars Smiley Face

  The 'smiley face' on the right of this photo is Mars' Galle Crater, as photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor in 1999.

• Phantom Of The Opera Neutron Star

  The Vela pulsar, here captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/vela-pulsar-phantom-opera-mask-video_n_2435297.html?utm_hp_ref=science">bears a striking resemblance to a masquerade mask.</a> The pulsar, located about 1,000 light years from Earth, was photographed in January, 2013.

• Libya Montes 'Face'

  Unlike the more famous Martian face (slide 1), this pattern is visible from multiple angles. The photo was taken by Mars Global Surveyor in 2000.

• Helix Nebula 'Eye'

  It may look like the Eye of Sauron, but it's actually <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/06/helix-nebula-photo-giant-eye-space-nasa-telescopes_n_1943656.html">a dying star (nebula) in the constellation Aquarius</a>. This 2004 image of the nebula was captured by the Hubble Telescope.

• Man In The Moon

  People have been seeing faces in lunar craters for millennia, and this 2012 diagram is just one possible interpretation of the moon's facial features.

• Moon Rabbit

  The Moon Rabbit, a fixture of Aztec and East Asian myth, appears with its traditional mortar and pestle in this 2005 diagram. In Chinese folklore, the rabbit is said to be pounding out the ingredients of the elixir of life for moon goddess Chang'e.

• A Trip To The Moon

  This is a still from what is widely considered the first science fiction film, the 1902 silent classic, "A Trip To The Moon."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/faces-in-space-planets_n_2457874.html

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