Universe Today
A Valentine from Earth. — Karen L. Nyberg (@AstroKarenN)
While we're unsure about the status of chocolates and flowers in locations far beyond Earth, there certainly is no lack of hearts for us to look at to enjoy Valentine's Day. If you look at enough geologic features or gas clouds, statistically some of them will take on shapes that we recognize (
such as faces
).
Below, we've collected some hearts on Mars and other places in the universe. Have we missed any? Share other astronomy hearts in the comments!
[caption id="attachment_109390" align="alignnone" width="450"]
This heart-shaped feature on Mars "is actually a pit formed by collapse within a straight-walled trough known in geological terms as a graben," wrote Malin Space Systems in 1999. Picture taken by Mars Global Surveyor. Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_109391" align="alignnone" width="361"]
A heart-shaped mesa captured by Mars Global Surveyor in 1999, in the Promethei Rupes region. Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_109392" align="alignnone" width="580"]
The Heart and Soul nebulae in an infrared mosaic from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). It is located about about 6,000 light-years from Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA[/caption]
I heart you heart — Angel Brise' (@AngelBrise67)
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Here's a heart saw on Vesta. :) — Keri Bean (@PlanetaryKeri)
Mars sends love to us all on Valentine's Day - hearts abounding from the romantics at — Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield)
Know I've used this before- but it seems like a good one. Happy Valentine's Day — Nicole Stott (@Astro_Nicole)