A giant skull appears to have been discovered amid the ice of Antarctica.
This shape appears in images of Vega Island taken from space. NASA published them on October 30, 2026. Seen from above, part of the island resembles a face in profile, with its dark eye and jaw.
Vega Island, Antarctica, photographed by Landsat 9 on October 10, 2026. The ice and rocks form a skull in profile.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin, Landsat data from the USGS.
The eye is a rocky outcrop rising above the ice. The mouth is formed by stones accumulated along the edge of a glacier. Another glacier forms the jaw. All these features are natural.
Our brains are accustomed to recognizing faces, even where there are none. This is why we sometimes see animals in the clouds. The same phenomenon occurs here, on a much larger scale.
But the images reveal another feature. The Landsat 9 satellite photographed the island on March 22, 2025, and then on October 10, 2026. In the first image, snow covers a large part of the landscape. In the second, vast stretches of gray ice appear exposed.
Satellite view of Vega Island on March 22, 2025, with its glaciers and snow cover.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin, Landsat data from the USGS.
The comparison nevertheless requires caution. In this region, March marks the beginning of autumn and October the beginning of spring. The two images were not taken in the same season. It is therefore impossible to directly infer how much ice may have melted between these dates.
The state of the landscape is nevertheless consistent with other observations. According to glacier specialist Mauri Pelto, the winter of 2026 was warmer than average. Snow covered some glaciers on Vega Island and neighboring islands only lightly. The wind moved some of it, while another portion turned directly into water vapor.
This lack of snow is important for what comes next. A white surface reflects a large part of the Sun's light. Dark ground, on the other hand, absorbs more heat. As the days lengthen in spring, this difference can accelerate melting and gradually alter the skull's contours.
Researchers are already monitoring the evolution of several glaciers on the island. In 1982, an inventory recorded 29 of them. The one that forms the jaw has been monitored since the austral summer of 1998–1999. Measurements indicate that it has lost mass, and satellite images also make it possible to track the retreat of other glaciers.