Virtual travelers recently stumbled upon what appears to be a mysterious door in Antarctica using Google Maps. While conspiracy theorists speculate that it could be connected to aliens or a pyramid discovered in 2016, experts have chimed in with more grounded explanations. So, what is it really?
Google Maps Captures a ‘Mysterious Door’ in Antarctica – What Could It Be?
If you’d like to locate the exact spot of this supposed door, you can enter these coordinates into Google Maps: 69°00′50.0″S 39°36′22.0″E. The area is near Showa Station, a permanent research base operated by Japan.
While the shape has sparked online jokes and memes about alien spaceships or Star Trek shuttles, scientists have offered a simpler explanation: it’s just ice. But how can such an ordinary element appear so extraordinary?
Whims of Nature: No, It’s Not a Door
Though the images were first shared on Reddit and sparked wild theories, scientists have clarified that the so-called ‘door’ is simply a natural ice formation. Despite the fascination surrounding it, experts explain that it is nothing more than ice going through the melting process, although its uncanny appearance continues to intrigue many. But why does it look like that?
Professor Bethan Davies, a glaciologist at Newcastle University, clarified that the formation is a glacier trapped and slowly melting—definitely not a doorway. Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute, also weighed in, explaining that the phenomenon is caused by ice flowing around a solid subglacial obstacle.
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In fact, if you look slightly northwest of the “door,” you can spot other ice formations with similar patterns, indicating that it’s just part of a natural melting process. The accumulation of snow around the area has coincidentally created the illusion of a rectangular shape, fueling the speculation. So now you know it!
This article was originally written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera