Mysterious ‘doorway’ in Antarctica is discovered on Google Maps – as baffled viewers suggest it could be Bigfoot’s vacation home or a shuttle from Star Trek
From a two-headed dog to a headless man, strange and wonderful objects are often spotted on Google Maps.
But the latest sighting may be one of the strangest yet.
A mysterious ‘doorway’ has been spotted in Antarctica, just southeast of the Japanese-operated Showa Station.
The discovery has sparked a series of theories on the Internet, including Bigfoot’s vacation home or a shuttle from Star Trek.
Now scientists have revealed to MailOnline what the structure really is – and say there is a simple explanation.
A mysterious ‘doorway’ has been spotted in Antarctica, just southeast of the Japanese-operated Showa Station
The discovery has sparked a series of theories on the Internet, including Bigfoot’s vacation home or a shuttle from Star Trek
The unusual structure was spotted by a Reddit user on Google Maps at the coordinate 69°00’50″S 39°36’22″E.
On the forum they wrote: ‘Big door in Antarctica?’, along with the coordinates.
The post has attracted massive attention, with hundreds of viewers flocking to the comments to discuss what the structure could be.
“Just a blown off Boeing door,” one user replied, while another wrote, “That’s actually Bigfoot’s vacation home.”
One user suggested it was the “door to Agartha,” while another user claimed it could be a “large seed vault, like the one in Svalbard, Norway.”
The unusual structure was spotted by a Reddit user on Google Maps at the coordinate 69°00’50″S 39°36’22″E
The post has attracted massive attention, with hundreds of viewers flocking to the comments to discuss what the structure could be
One user suggested it was the ‘door to Agartha’, while another user claimed it could be a ‘large seed vault like the one in Spitsbergen, Norway’
Unfortunately, the true identity of the structure is much less exciting than these theories would have you believe.
Professor Bethan Davies, professor of glaciology at Newcastle University, viewed the coordinates on Google Earth Pro, which allowed her to see historical images.
“This phenomenon is in an area of fast sea ice in East Antarctica, just off the coast,” she explained to MailOnline.
‘There are a number of islands there and the water is quite shallow.
“This is an iceberg that has hit the ground and is now stuck and melting on the spot. You can see many more icebergs in the area.’
Professor Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute, agreed with Professor Davies.
He told MailOnline: ‘This is simply an ice flow around a solid subglacial obstacle, also affected by ice melting and refreezing and by katabatic winds.
‘The ice is quite thin here, as evidenced by other rock outcrops nearby, so the influence of the ground on ice flow will be strong.
“It’s an interesting pattern, but not glaciologically unusual or surprising.”
Meanwhile, Professor John Smellie, a volcanologist at the University of Leicester, joked: ‘What would we do without the conspiracy theorists?
‘The research isn’t great and I don’t recognize the site, but it appears that a short rocky ridge was excavated as a result of the ice sinking.
‘It forms the “top” of the “doorway”. And there are two prominent parallel snow tails that form the sides of the “doorway”. The snow tails show you the orientation of the prevailing wind direction.
‘So with a good imagination, an overall weak and totally false door-like appearance is created.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just a natural phenomenon and nothing to get excited about.”