| Last Updated: March 13, 2019 by GlitchMindMarch 13, 2019

Last October, NASA shared an oddly satisfying image of a completely smooth iceberg. At first glance it’s hard to believe this wasn’t artificially created, but these pieces of ice are actually not uncommon, and are categorized as “tabular icebergs.”

From yesterday's #IceBridge flight: A tabular iceberg can be seen on the right, floating among sea ice just off of the Larsen C ice shelf. The iceberg's sharp angles and flat surface indicate that it probably recently calved from the ice shelf. pic.twitter.com/XhgTrf642Z — NASA ICE (@NASA_ICE) October 17, 2018

The giant block of ice was discovered near the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica during an Operation Icebridge flight.



The size estimation is around 1 mile and approximately 130 feet tall. Outwardly, only about 10% of the total iceberg is visible above water. Underneath the surface the shape’s perfection is likely less stunning.



Below is an alternative view giving a perspective into the size of this rectangular frozen wonder.

Image by NASA

When the images were first released, a myriad of rumors floated around, including alien intervention. Kelly Brunt, a glaciologist with NASA put other-worldly notions to rest in an interview with Live Science where she stated:

“We get two types of icebergs: We get the type that everyone can envision in their head that sank the Titanic, and they look like prisms or triangles at the surface and you know they have a crazy subsurface. And then you have what are called ‘tabular icebergs.’”

Similar ice sheets in Antarctica have been seen in the past and many scientists express concern over the possibility of these giant formations melting and resulting in a calamitous flood.

Image by NASA

One thing is for certain, there is plentiful splendor in the southern most continent. It’s an ice-world isolated to itself that likely still holds many secrets.