Pareidolia Revisited

Since I last wrote about cloud pareidolia I’ve accumulated 10 more post-worthy examples. Time for an update. The first slide (Pigs can fly!) was the topic of a 2007 post — back in the B&W newsprint era of Sky Lights. I decided that photo deserved a full-color reprise. The other 9 photos are relatively recent, spanning 2017–2018.

Pareidolia is the tendency of the eye-brain system to see familiar shapes in what is essentially random noise. I’m a skygazer and photographer so I see lots of clouds. When I spot one that’s suggestive of a familiar object I record it for a future post on pareidolia. Lest you think my fascination with clouds is eccentric, I point you to the Cloud Appreciation Society. If you’re a fellow nephophile I think you’ll enjoy their website. They have literally hundreds of cloud photos — some strange, some rare, and others just plain beautiful.

This latest slide show comprises a fascinating menagerie of shapes. The captions proffer my own interpretations, but you might see something else. Pareidolia is much like a Rorschach test. Have fun connecting the dots!

Next Week in Sky Lights ⇒ Parallel Light Rays from Infinity

Edwin Hubble's Eureka Moment
Q&A: Parallel Light Rays from Infinity
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