From mysterious anomalies that haven't been explained, to pieces of history that took a long time to be found. Join me as I show you some of the most unbelievable discoveries made underwater. 9. The Baltic Sea Anomaly
In the Baltic Sea there is a "formation" on the depths of its floor that when looked at from above, does resemble the legendary ship driven by Han Solo in Star Wars. Yes, it looks like the Millennium Falcon. No joke.
This interesting formation was found in 2012 by treasure hunters. A sonar device they had picked up the formation, and when they went to explore it themselves, they found a "formation" unlike anything they've seen or heard about before.
What made it strange wasn't just its shape, but also that it was 300 feet below the depths of the sea, as well as the fact that this "formation" is 210 feet long.
Ever since its discovery, people have been working out, or trying to work out, exactly what this thing is, who made it, and why. Some even feel it was an alien craft that someone crashed into the sea. Divers were able to get samples of the formation though, and based on scientific research, it was later determined that the formation was just that, a rock formation made by glacier movement.
But...not everyone is buying that theory. Especially since something about the anomaly causes electrical devices to stop working as it gets near it. What kind of "natural formation" does that? Not one that many has heard of.
So what exactly is the Baltic Sea Anomaly? And how did it get to that specific of a formation? The mystery continues.
8. A Massive Gap Between The Tectonic Plates
The Earth may seem like a very basic place at times, but there are many things working together to ensure that it doesn't go awry. Such as the tectonic plates, which not only hold our planet together, but allow us to live above water. That's because these plates are what the continents of our world are on, and thus, there are 7 massive plates underneath the surface within the Lithosphere, and the study of them have been a major focus point for scientists over the years, especially when they realized that they were moving away from one another. For the record, that's a bad thing.
Specifically, the North American and Eurasian plates are moving farther and farther apart from each other every year. No need to panic just yet, it's only moving apart about an inch a year, but still, they're moving. And if you go underwater, you can actually see the gap between the plates.
Should you want to do this, you'll need to go to Iceland, where the gap can be found, and you'll be amazed by what you see. The water is apparently crystal clear, and the sight of the walls of the plates and their verticality can be quite mind-blowing.
This has become a somewhat frequent spot for divers to see the beauty of the ocean, and it's something that definitely shocked people when it was found. And can you blame them for their shock?
7. Apollo 11 Engine
The Space Race was one of the most important times for the people of many nations, especially the United States and the then USSR. In 1969, the Apollo 11 shuttle took three men from the United States to the moon, and it was a resounding success, they landed on it, and the world was never the same. As was standard procedure, after the shuttle took off from Florida, it ascended to the sky via a course over the ocean. When it did, it detached many parts from the shuttle, including its rocket engine boosters. A search for those engines went on for many decades to find those engines. But with little luck.
That is, until 2012 when a man named Jeff Bezos went out on a "secret mission" to try and find the engines. If you feel like you know that name, it's because that's the name of the CEO of Amazon.
"I'm thrilled to share some exciting news," Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said after the discovery. "44 years ago tomorrow [July 20] Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, and now we have recovered a critical technological marvel that made it all possible."
The two engines that Bezos and his team found were found in the Atlantic Ocean, but at first, they couldn't confirm that they were from the Apollo 11. This was due to how long it had been in the water, added with stress done in by erosion, the fires from the detaching, and more.
"There was one secret that the ocean didn't give up easily: mission identification," Bezos wrote "The components' fiery end and heavy corrosion from 43 years underwater removed or covered up most of the original serial numbers."
The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas were the ones who confirmed the discovery was indeed from Apollo 11. After a long process, they found serial numbers and unit numbers on the engine that noted which ship it came from. Making it proof positive that these were indeed the engines from that legendary mission.
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