The latest curiosity from the planet Mars, photographed by the Curiosity rover on August 14, 2014, is an object that very much looks like a bone of some kind. Some observers have likened it to a thigh bone.

There shouldn't be bones of any kind on Mars, according to planetary scientists, since life -- not even in microbial form -- has never been detected there. And certainly no evidence for large forms of life has ever been confirmed.

Or is this artifact the evidence?

Or is it just an oddly shaped rock that resembles a bone? Its coloration, proportions, and shape, complete with joint-like nodules on the ends immediately makes one think of a limb bone. Without further examination, however, a conclusion cannot be drawn, and we don't know if NASA is planning for Curiosity to take a closer look.

Probably not. "If life ever existed on Mars, scientists expect that it would be small simple life forms called microbes," NASA stated in a press release. "Mars likely never had enough oxygen in its atmosphere and elsewhere to support more complex organisms. Thus, large fossils are not likely."

While some amateur observers say that it is very likely the bone of an alien Martian animal, other suggest the resemblance to a bone is mere pareidolia -- the tendency for the human brain to find familiar shapes in random formations.

What do you think?