Thigh Bone On Mars Spotted In New Photo, Scientists Offer Explanation

A thigh bone spotted on Mars in a new photo from NASA’s Curiosity rover has alien enthusiasts excited, but scientists warn the picture may not be exactly what it appears.

The Mars-roving robot snapped pictures of what appeared to be a fossilized alien thigh bone partially buried in the red sand of Mars. The object resembled a femur, though a bit more jagged than one from a human body.

The thigh bone spotted on Mars is likely nothing too fantastic, scientists note. The supposed bone is really just a piece of normal rock cut into the shape of something that resembles an alien bone.

This would not be the first time a seemingly normal object on Mars has resembled something fantastic. Others have found objects in Curiosity’s photographs that include an an iguana and even some weird faces.NASA even addressed the look-alike photos last year, when some people swore they saw a strange shiny object.

“On Mars, as on Earth, sometimes things can take on an unusual appearance,” NASA wrote on its website last year.

While the thigh bone found on Mars might not belong to an alien, scientists did just make an important discover about life on the Red Planet. They found a strange structure resembling a cell inside a meteorite that fell to Earth more than 100 years ago. They believe the meteorite proves there was water on Mars, and that the ovoid structure could be some kind of microorganism, Space.com reports.

“The consideration of possible biotic scenarios for the origin of the ovoid structure in Nakhla currently lacks any sort of compelling evidence,” researchers claim. “Therefore, based on the available data that we have obtained on the nature of this conspicuous ovoid structure in Nakhla, we conclude that the most reasonable explanation for its origin is that it formed through abiotic processes.”

More pictures of the thigh bone on Mars — and other interesting discoveries from NASA’s Curiosity rover — can be found here.