In the Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan, groups of Japanese cedar trees appear to be arranged in concentric circles, strangely similar to crop circles and it’s not the work of green-thumbed aliens. The formation is actually the result of a meticulous project begun in 1973, centered around forest growth and spacing. The area was designated as “experimental forestry,” with one experiment calling for the planting of trees in 10-degree radial increments to form 10 concentric circles.

45 years later, the trees have grown in a unique convex shape, creating a beautiful formation and proving that tree spacing does indeed affect growth patterns