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Satellite Spots Massive Object Hidden Under the Frozen Wastes of Antarctica (thesun.co.uk)

Posted by BeauHD on from the lurking-beneath-the-surface dept.

schwit1 quotes a report from The Sun: Scientists believe a massive object which could change our understanding of history is hidden beneath the Antarctic ice. The huge and mysterious "anomaly" is thought to be lurking beneath the frozen wastes of an area called Wilkes Land. It stretches for a distance of 151 miles across and has a maximum depth of about 848 meters. Some researchers believe it is the remains of a truly massive asteroid which was more than twice the size of the Chicxulub space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs. If this explanation is true, it could mean this killer asteroid caused the Permian-Triassic extinction event which killed 96 percent of Earth's sea creatures and up to 70 percent of the vertebrate organisms living on land.This "Wilkes Land gravity anomaly" was first uncovered in 2006, when NASA satellites spotted gravitational changes which indicated the presence of a huge object sitting in the middle of a 300 mile wide impact crater.

12 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. Here we go by Isendur · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, "Alien" or "The Thing"? What are your bets guys?

    1. Re:Here we go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well it's black, and its edges have the ratio 1:4:9.

  2. Obvious anomaly answers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    1) It's the collected lost socks and keys of the planet. They all fell to the bottom.

    2) It's Cowboy Neal's porn stash.

  3. Seriously? by ledow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously? You linked to the fucking Sun newspaper? For a science article?

    I'm done with this site.

    1. Re: Seriously? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Agreed. BeauHD should be ashamed for posting this. While there are a lot of sources that there is, indeed, a crater buried under the ice, there are no credible sources about a massive object being detected. In fact, a lot of the posts about thr supposed object are speculating that there's either a Nazi base or a UFO buried under the ice. Although either one might make for an interesting X-Files story (and this was done in Fight the Future), there doesn't seem to be any credible science involved here. It's a bunch of lunatic conspiracy theories, with no reputable sources. BeauHD should be ashamed of posting this. It marks a new low for Slashdot.

    2. Re: Seriously? by Rei · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed. Large (dangerous) asteroids do not survive their descent. Ever. The largest single meteorite ever found is only 60 tonnes (Hoba meteorite), and it took exceptional circumstances for it to survive (an extremely shallow entry trajectory). If an impact is excavating a large (or even small) crater, it's turning to gas and/or plasma in the process.

      --
      For the love of Crom, am I the only one here who wants to keep the U.S. technologically competitive?
    3. Re:Seriously? by frovingslosh · · Score: 5, Funny

      Slashdot and the sun are pretty much on the same level.

      No, The Sun has editors that actually edit.

      --
      I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  4. Look at the bright side by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    Look at the bright side. It could be Superman's Fortress of Solitude

  5. Seriously? The Sun? by Lisandro · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why don't you post a link to The Mirror as well? At least they don't dance around and call it a lost Nazi UFO base right away.

    What the fuck is going on with this site?

  6. Re: Is it Iron? by Rei · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yep - just like the Sudbury deposit. Probably a great spot to mine, if it wasn't buried beneath ice and in an area where mining is illegal. Large impact crater floors tend to stay molten for so long that they stratify, so you can find portions of the deposit rich in different minerals, such as nickel, copper, and precious metals.

    It's one thing that Mars has over Earth in terms of mineral deposits. While Mars lacks relevant recent fluvial mineral concentration mechanisms, as well as those aided by life, by oxidation, and a number of other processes, it's also struck more often by large asteroids, and thus probably has more common stratified impact deposits.

    --
    For the love of Crom, am I the only one here who wants to keep the U.S. technologically competitive?
  7. It's either paywalls or tabloids by joneil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here's the problem. A very quick google search will turn up research papers on on the Wilkes Land Anomaly, but they are mostly behind paywalls or "free registration", etc, etc.

    A person can play video games, read tabloids, browse conspiracy websites, watch porn or gamble for "free" online all day long, but the minute you want serious information on any topic nowadays, the serious research is almost always behind "paywalls". For the average person who is not involved in some form of academia, how many east to find alternatives (other than wikipedia) are there out there? More importantly, hwo easy are they to find and access as compared o the others? As long as we as a society continue to operate this way, then society as a whole will continue to "dumb down" in general. "idiocracy" here we come. :(

  8. The Sun does Science by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well Slashdot is quoting a science article from the Sun 'newspaper' so I think we are pretty much well beyond the Mountains of Madness now and heading out over the Seas of Stupidity.