590646 external_news 1492624654 1492632684 Humankind has a long history of looking up at the stars and seeing figures and faces. In fact, there’s a word for recognizing faces in natural objects: pareidolia. But this must be the first time someone has recognized Bart Simpson’s face on an object in space. Researchers studying landslides on the dwarf planet Ceres noticed a pattern that resembles the cartoon character. The researchers, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, are studying massive landslides that occur on the surface of the icy dwarf. Their findings are reinforcing the idea that Ceres has significant quantities of frozen water. School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Assistant Professor Britney Schmidt was the lead author on the study; EAS graduate students Heather Chilton and Justin Lawrence were co-authors. 

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