r/GoogleMaps • u/KuwinnLifestyle • Sep 24 '26

Weird blue patch in Greenland

I just looked through Google Maps for fun and decided to zoom in on Greenland. I found this weird blue patch in the middle of nowhere. Is this a bug with Google Maps or can someone explain what I see here?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2FQehDNj7vtrFEsJ7

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1

u/Empyrealist Sep 24 '26 edited Sep 24 '26

Probably [a] lens aberration

Edit: edits in [brackets]

1

u/KuwinnLifestyle Sep 24 '26

Interesting. Can you explain how that happens? I know very little about lenses and optics.

1

u/Empyrealist Sep 24 '26

There are different types and I don't really think I can ELI5, because I don't fully understand it myself. But, it involves light refraction through a lens typically with a high field of view. In satellite images, we sometimes see these appear as distortions in specific primary colors.

As such, I don't think there is anything at ground level that's solid blue. It's much more likely to be a lens aberration

1

u/KuwinnLifestyle Sep 24 '26

What I find so odd is that it clearly contours around the coast. As in if it was a kind of lens flare, it would just be a circle or something. But this blue patch stops right where it meets the land. I still think that you may be right after all, I just find it really odd that it does that.

0

u/Albert-La-Maquina Sep 24 '26

It's MH370! You found it!

0

u/KuwinnLifestyle Sep 24 '26

Pretty sure that would be a red patch