What do you think this photo from Mars below represents? Is it a Convex Object or Concave Crater? Many of my friends argued on this one, before I gave them true answer. NASA said it shows “Victoria crater,” an impact crater at Meridiani Planum – near the equator of Mars. The crater is approximately 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter. Peter Hosey sent in this fabulous illusion. He said that it “Looks like a convex object, but that’s actually a crater — the Victoria Crater at Meridian Planum on Mars, photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.”
(11 votes)
nope. not seeing the island. wasnt this on yahoo most viewed pictures or something? i know ive seen it somewhere…..
Cool image, although if you think about it, you have shadows proving that it’s concave.
if you try, and think of it as an “island” you will have troubles looking at it as crater next time.
imagine those shadows were cliffs in a shadow..!
I can’t see the crator, but i can see the island. I guess i’m just weird lol
was this on ‘riding with robots’ or NASA astro pic of the day?
uuummmm….. all i see is a crater… nothing else
to me its obviously a crater- i can’t see it as an island, the shadows won’t let me!
I saw the island at first, but closer inspection of the edges made the crater more apparent.
it u just look at the bottom right edge of the crater, it looks like an island. Nice one
At first I could only see the crater, but I found by focusing on the dark shadows, as soon as my vision relaxed, it turned covex…If that doesn’t help, the crater has a light source at the top left, while the theoretical island would have one at the bottom right…
It’s a lot like that face… erm… thing. A well-known convex/concave illuison. Does anyone know the one I’m talking about?
yakes a while to se the creator
gah you have no idea how much this is bothering me ive come back at least ten times and i still cant see it! and you where i think i saw it (see first post)….my science teacher has an earth science picture of the day as her background, i think that’s where, id have to check. vurdlak?
Ya, at first it looked nothing like an island…
If you focus on the yellow glow around the edges of the crater, it makes it appear as an island.
StevieD,
Are you talking about the face on the Mars surface. If that is the Case, I think you are talking about Olympus Mons.
nope looks exactly like a crater to me
thats pretty cool, i remember seeing something on pictures like this on tv, something with not able to have depth perseption or something (you kind-of get the same optical illusion in V for Vendetta when V is putting on his mask in the beggining)
Dont see n island at all, bad illusion
gah….i can kinda see it now……but not really……….you have no idea how much this is bothering me!
it is so obvious that is a crater!!! Even someone who cannot see it can feel it!!!
When I saw it first, it looked convex. After a little while, I again looked at it, and it appeared concave. Once it appears convex/concave, it is almost impossible to see it the other way. A really great illusion…
treat it not just as convex, but as an actual island (like in the middle of an ocean) and it will become apparent, i saw the crater immediately, and it took a little longer to see the ‘island’
OH WOW!!
I thought you guys were going a bit crazy with all this convex talk, i couldnt see that perspective at all…. i just took another look and it blew me away, i couldnt understand why i was so convinced it was a crater!
Awesome Awesome!
This is dumb
I thought it looked like an ameba at first then i saw an island then a crater but i am having more trouble seeing a crater…
To see it as the ‘island’ think of it as a jelly cup…
It will help if you turn the image by 180 degree.
I think we are used to see the light coming from the top, so most people will see the crater in that image first.
I dont know about an island, but if you look at it for a while you suddenly see that its near to full of water! You can see through the water surface down into the depths near the bottom right where some dark colouration in the sediment can be seen, and of course those waves near the centre nail it.
i saw a crater on my widget, but all i can see now is the island!
if only we could go there and prove it :p
Try as I may, my brain will not let me see the island.
OMG! vurdlak, you’re totally right!
I saw this as a crater the first time seeing it, I couldn’t even see it as an island. After reading your post, I went back to look at it, and it’s an island!
Now, I can’t see it as a crater anymore!
I’m the same as Michael J, the shadows at the top left-hand-side wont let me see the object as an island, only as a crater with a light source from the top left (as pointed out by SteveyD! Good call)
I’ve to concentrate a lot to see the island, but yes, it is there. Although the crater is much more easy to identify.
This is rust under a paint job in an old car.
No Blue in Mars!
No matter how hard or how relaxed I try I can not see it as an island.
I only see a crater…..
if the image was presented upside down, the illusion would have been more dramatic.
I rotated it in Photoshop 180° and the eye is definitely tricked by the shadows.
for a really cool effect, place two images of this shot next to each other and rotate one of them 180°
KH
The island is a no go…crater all the way. The shadows are fucken it up for me.
I don’t see an island… What’s the illusion supposed to be though?
soz but ur all wrong, this is a 4-d donut looping over itself being percieved in a 3-d dimension under 2-d conditions…this is wat happens when chuck norris performs a roundhouse kick….
I see an apple pie… but I’m baked and have the munchies.
i don’t see the island at all
I think it should be and illusion of in or out.
with the exception of the bottom right corner, it always looks like a crater
No matter how hard I try, or how many times I look at it, I just can’t make it look like an island of any sort. It’s always a crater. It’d driving me crazy, I’ve followed all the advice on the page trying to convince my eyes/mind to visualize an island…
Eveynow and these crop up, where I can’t make myself see the wrong thing, and I’m usually just absolutely baffled that anyone does.
Turn it upside-down, that really helps
The colors are inverted…
I never really saw a convex object… the first thing I saw was a wind eroded crater, the shadows are a good way to tell.
zomg! i can FINALLY see it! this has been bothering me for so long, i knew i wasnt seeing it right! this newest illusion gave me the idea; i turned the computer upside down thats so cool! people flip the picture! vurdlak please post flipped version?
hey yeah i knew id seen it somewhere……check here. my science teacher has a picture of the day from this site as her desktop background, and i knew id seen it somewhere……ill have to tell her to turn it upside down!