This black hole is an island, the Vostok island! How can this be possible? Nowadays, we can interact and see what happens anywhere in the world thanks to technological advances, for example Google Maps. This allows us to see any part of the world because of the use of satellite maps and people use this app just for fun sometimes.
One day, some people were having a look and they found a strange black spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which was thought to be a case of cartographic censorship. Not really, in the end what it seemed like a ‘’black hole’’ became one of the most striking modern geographic mysteries, the Vostok island which belongs to the Kiribati nation.
Can you imagine being chill and curious using the Google Maps app and suddenly you find something that started many conspiracy theories? Let’s find out more about the mystery Vostok island.
A ‘’black hole’’ seen in Google Maps
In 2021, some people were randomly using the Google Maps app and with no intention of finding anything, they surprisingly saw a weird black triangle in the Pacific Ocean and it was nothing like land or water, it was something new. Nobody could reach a conclusion so they decided to call it a ‘’black hole’’ because it was something black in the middle of nowhere.
As with everything on the internet, this mystery started to spread very fast on social media and many conspiracy theories were discussed. You won’t believe the crazy things people were putting out there.
Theories around the mysterious ‘’black hole’’
When people don’t have a clear explanation about a situation, they tend to make their own and here’s when all conspiracies start to come out. Let’s see some of the theories people on the internet were talking about:
- Satellite error, which is the most normal one.
- National security, they thought the government blurred out that place for security reasons or because they wanted to hide a secret military base.
- Access to another part of the world, these people were a bit more imaginative. Why not a door leading to a secret spot in the world? Maybe Narnia?
- Matrix, of course! If there’s an opportunity to talk about living in a Matrix, this was the perfect one.
The Vostok island
After all conspiracies were discussed on the internet, it was proved the mystery black spot was the Vostok island. However, if you like reading about discovering places, you should know this island was already part of a government and it was no mystery for some people and scientists.
Vostok island is part of the Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati, an island nation in the central tropical Pacific Ocean and it is very tiny and distant from other lands. How was it possible to confuse it with a ‘’black hole’’? Well, what these people saw was the trees covering Vostok island, so no detail of beaches or island features could be seen.
Really? Was it all because of trees?
Yes, I’m afraid all those conspiracy theories have nothing to do with Vostok island. Pisonia trees were the ones behind that black spot since they grow very close to each other, so no light reaches the island and their leaves are very dark.Having this information in mind, it’s normal this place was seen so dark from space.
This island is special
You might think this island might be a paradise where you can spend your holidays drinking a cocktail while you are sunbathing. Nothing could be further from the truth, Vostok island has no potable water, it is very difficult to reach there and there are no resources to live nor build anything.
Scientists are the ones who go there to study its flora, fauna and ecosystem, no human habitation is there. The government of Kiribati is in charge of protecting Vostok island.
So, we have learnt with this story that we can’t take everything on the internet seriously, not everything here is true. Before supporting what you see on social media, go and check what you are reading. You should take this advice.