Images Dated 29th June 2004

Face on Mars

Face on Mars. Computer artwork of the Face on Mars feature. This eroded mesa-like land formation, located in the Cydonia region of Mars, is 1.5 kilometres across. When an image of this feature was first taken by the Viking 1 spacecraft in 1976, it appeared remarkably like a human head, with shadows giving the illusion of eyes, nose and mouth. Studies have found that the human brain will instinctively recognise a pattern and try to relate it to previously seen objects. This ability is especially well-developed for recognising human faces. Similar shapes have been found on cliffs on Earth

© VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Mammoth ivory sculptures

Mammoth ivory sculptures. Female figures carved from tusks of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). The woolly mammoth was a large, elephant-like mammal with a thick, hairy coat. The tusks of the male woolly mammoth reached 3 metres in length. It lived on the steppes of Siberia and in much of Europe up until about 10, 000 years ago. Woolly mammoths died out as Eurasia warmed up at the end of the last ice age and forests spread across the steppes. These figures, which date from the Palaeolithic period (500, 000-10, 000BC), were found during an archaeological excavation in the village of Kostenki in the Rostov region of Russia

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Burrowing CLAM

AU-13-dav
Burrowing CLAM
Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Tridacna crocea
Auscape
Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

© David Wachenfeld/ardea.com

Australasia, Australasian, Australia, Australian, Blue, Clam, Clams, Fish, Fishes, Great Barrier Reef, In Water, National Parks, Nature Reserve, Oceania, Reef, Reefs, Shell Fish, Shell Fishes, Single, Under Water, Wild Life