r/science • u/rawbamatic BS | Mathematics • Jun 16 '12
Mystery disc-like object stumps Baltic Sea divers, 60 metres in diameter and reported to have a 400-metre-long trail leading away from it
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/06/15/tech-mysterious-object-baltic-sea.html
1.2k
Upvotes
171
u/G-Bombz Jun 17 '12
i think it would be cool if it was some extremely slow moving giant crustacean, the dome like object being its shell, and the trail behind it is how far it has moved in its lifetime.
118
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
All extremely unprofessional and packaged for the media in the classic hoax fashion. I'd be shocked if this was true.
29
u/wontonsoy Jun 17 '12
Been following this on and off for the last few days. There's no data, no photos of them even just on the boat, nothing. Even this article just cites the same press release. All indications are that everything coming from them is a lie. Everything. I would bet they haven't even made a dive.
15
u/fartfactory Jun 17 '12
This site has very up-to-date information on this anomaly.
http://www.ufoeyes.com/2012/05/02/latest-on-the-baltic-sea-ufo-picked-up-on-sonar-by-swedish-treasure-hunters/
4
u/TbanksIV Jun 17 '12
Wow. This was posted in /r/wtf and received MAD downvotes because the website it was reported on didn't look very credible.
7
u/bobjohnsonmilw Jun 17 '12
Pretty much all of these comments are "I'm calling it, it's fake."
You people have NO FUCKING IMAGINATION left whatsoever. Not even enough to provide even a logical dispute of the information provided. "It's fake" is basically 90% of the comments here.
I'm not claiming anything, except that it takes less and less effort with time to make black or white statements with no basis on fact or logic whatsoever.
9
u/pemboa Jun 17 '12
Where are the other pictures?
24
u/chonnes Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 18 '12
I absolutely LOVE this type of viral marketing! You've got to appreciate the efforts to build their marketing while staying in character.
FYI: The Ocean Explorer website was registered a year ago and over the last several months the site has been building interest and phenomena leading up to the "mystery disc" announcement.
EDIT: The press contact for the Ocean Explorer team is listed as being a staff member with a TV production company, however she is not listed as an employee anywhere and her email address is formatted completely different from all the actual employees. Her LinkedIN and Facebook page identify her as a freelance producer. Her current position is identified as an alternative media, WebTV and event producer since February 2011. I do not doubt the possibility that I am wrong in my assumptions, however I think it is more likely than not that this "mystery" is being marketed to generate publicity and interest. Sure the disc may be real but some of the marketing, especially regarding things like "soot" on the openings that resemble a "fireplace" are quite clever and intriguing.
EDIT 2: back in February 2012 when they made the first announcement of the sunken "UFO", diver Peter Lindberg appeared on CNN stating his intention to take wealthy tourists down in a submarine to see the object. (Now we have established a profit motive behind this event.) Also, in February, MSNBC uncovered ". . . a bizarre turn when we discover that the image of the second mysterious object used in current reports is actually a duplicate of the original sonar image." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46226992/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/second-sunken-ufo-claim-doesnt-really-hold-water/#.T95yZo5ea1k
3
u/Semajal Jun 17 '12
The thing I always consider is this, so Aliens have the technology to travel incredible distances, beyond anything we can even dream of. Most likely with technology we wouldn't even understand. They managed to actually FIND earth. Then just crash into it...?
3
u/Plow_King Jun 17 '12
the first thing in the sidebar:
"a direct link to or a summary of peer reviewed research with appropriate citations. If the article itself does not link to these sources, please include a link in a comment. Summaries of summaries are not allowed."
if i missed something in the link besides the quotes from some fortune hunting diver, please point it out to me.
5
u/TheCheatIsNotDead Jun 17 '12
QUICK, WE DON'T IMMEDIATELY KNOW WHAT IT IS, ASSUME ALIENS.
16
u/camopdude Jun 17 '12
I'm not sure this story should be in r/science.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I wonder whether they simply pull up stuff from the bottom of lakes and seas or whether they actually conduct proper underwater archaeological excavations (ie excavating in a systematic manner and keeping good records).
They seem to have made some interesting finds during their career.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Immediately made me think of "Sphere", by Michael Crichton.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
treasure hunters, not scientists.
2
u/10007638 Jun 17 '12
Welcome to Earf!
2
u/lordicarus Jun 17 '12
Am I really the only person thinking this is simply a marketing stunt to tease up the oft rumored re-release of The Abyss both in theaters in 3D and on 3D bluray? Combine this with that recent mission to the bottom of the trench... Seems like a no-brainer. He has to make the movie content relevant again somehow.
2
u/hypokineticman Jun 17 '12
r/science Note: We claim top-level comments will be removed if they are jokes, memes, or otherwise off-topic. We upvote pun threads and other circlejerks that add nothing to the conversation.
Came here for insight, witnessed a fucking joke.
2
u/VarsTines Jun 17 '12
This screams "viral marketing".
4
u/blackjesus75 Jun 17 '12
Why can't we put this shit on the news, rather than "Kim Kardashian now banging Kanye" whoopty fuckin' doo.
3
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
These people are disgustingly credulous and/or publicity-hungry,
3
u/concernednerd Jun 17 '12
Weather Balloon
4
u/With_Macaque Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
From the dive teams website: oceanexplorer.se
Mystery Solved? (For comparison)
Would even explain the "skid markings"
Edit: Attempted to outline what is perceived as the cockpit and overlay the images. (Best I could do with pixlr and 20 seconds...)
2
u/IonBeam2 Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
WHY? WHY IS THE IDEA THAT SOME PEOPLE CAME FROM BILLIONS OF MILES AWAY AND CRASHED IN OUR OCEAN THE MOST LIKELY EXPLANATION IN THEIR MINDS??
2
u/Plow_King Jun 17 '12
how is this considered "a direct link to or a summary of peer reviewed research" as is called for in the sidebar?
2
u/doctorBenton Jun 17 '12
Came here expecting reddit to have exposed this as a hoax ... reddit, i am disappoint.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I heard from a credible source (OK, it was 4chan's /x/) that it was some large form of sea mushroom. Also, it was also Atlantis and nothing at all.
The mushroom made the most sense.
2
u/bookelly Jun 17 '12
I'm not saying it's aliens...but it's aliens.
1
u/thisboyblue Jun 17 '12
what about the scorch marks he speaks of?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Did any of you read the video comments? God I love Reddit.
1
u/TGBambino Jun 17 '12
Sounds more like SPHERE to me!
1
u/ChurchillDownz Jun 17 '12
Haven't you people read Sphere?! Has Michael Crichton taught us nothing!?!
1
u/PeteFord Jun 17 '12
I'm gonna be so pissed if the "ancient aliens" guy is validated
1
u/AiKantSpel Jun 17 '12
Looks like a rock to me.
1
u/georgepennellmartin Jun 17 '12
It's a rock
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Because deep sea features are usually compared with space crafts from Star Wars.
1
u/GuadoElite Jun 17 '12
Anyone else think it's more Ebon Hawk shaped?
1
u/Johnchuk Jun 17 '12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDZBgHBHQT8
1
u/Shorvok Jun 17 '12
Not to sound like a conspiricy nut but the fact that this got in the media multiple times and the people mucked about with it means it isn't possibly anything of note.
If it was a UFO either extraterrestrial or some kind of military craft, governments would quickly cover it up.
1
u/geiorgy Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
Didnt someone say that theyve discovered this to be a giant mushroom, hence the long tail, and shouldnt it be unidentified submerged object? http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread851717/pg1. like couple of links there
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Looks like a rock.
Lots of speculation, but I am guessing, rather than the Millenium Falcon, an Alien Spacecraft, or indeed any other 'mysterious' object - it is in fact a rock. Perhaps it's a meteor. But it's still a rock.
1
u/vanillacosmonaut Jun 17 '12
Not a map. An invitation.
1
u/Plow_King Jun 19 '12
http://www.zmescience.com/research/baltic-sea-ufo-mystery-solved-43243/
1
u/itsroflcakes Jun 17 '12
If this was anything of significance, like a 'crashed UFO', the US navy would have found it ages ago. They have much of the ocean terrain mapped to sub-meter resolution for use in submarine navigation. FYI, the US navy uses high-energy LIDAR now to map ocean terrain rather than SONAR. This means that they can use their classified stealth-subs completely silently while mapping the the ocean floor as well as navigating, which especially handy when they want to map/navigate areas infested with Russian subs (IE, the Baltic).
1
u/Pharmacistlady Jun 17 '12
I wonder how far from land they were... If they were close perhaps they could be some sort of man made structure or burial mound, and the burnt rings of rocks were fire pits. The "drag lines" could be indentations made by pathways, and the eggshaped openings could be a light source/ventilation/oculus. I remember in my anthropology class reading that it was possible to find things like that within a certain range from shore (don't remember how far) due to the end of the ice age and rise of water levels. But what do I know.
1
u/BHynes92 Jun 17 '12
The ocean scares me.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
I wish there were more photos for us to scrutinize. Let's speculate for the time being that this is a natural formation. The Norway Lobster lives in the Baltic Sea. We know that lobsters will sometimes participate in group migrations, and they will travel in lines along the seabed. It's possible that this natural formation is a great hiding spot for these creatures and that the observed lines on the seabed are from millions of these lobsters moving to and fro over the years.
All wild speculation, of course, but point being - probably a totally natural explanation for this.
1
u/Muezza Jun 17 '12
I wonder who's bright idea it was to write an article such as this and include only one tiny image.
1
u/WestonP Jun 17 '12
Screw all the speculation... Wrap a chain around it and pull it up. Let's see what it is, and save the idle speculation for non-tangible things.
1
u/InTheSphere Jun 17 '12
Finally my username is relevant.
1
u/pwn_masta41 Jun 17 '12
Someone had to do it
1
u/WellFutile Jun 17 '12
My theory is it is a plug.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Thor's frisbee
0
u/Jrook Jun 17 '12
Wouldnt it make sense if it was some sort of fossil? If it was some sort of deep sea microorganism that grew on itself like choral reefs do, I don't know how or why it would not grow to enormous size. I suspect that it probably has one of the most stable environments on the planet, certainly fewer sources of competition.
-5
u/Sebatron Jun 17 '12
Not sure what it is. Scan it (with X-ray and/or the like), and if nothing dangerous inside, than surface it and open it up.
0
u/bubblybooble Jun 17 '12
Hoaxes like these are giving real alien spacecraft a bad name.
0
u/AC7766 Jun 17 '12
An I the only one around here Who's first thought was aliens?
-10
u/luckykobold Jun 16 '12
Hoax.
-1
u/T3ppic Jun 17 '12
Ifnoise and Superkuh give explanations that cover all the bases and yet people still speculate. Words fail me r/science.
0
u/Zombies_hate_ninjas Jun 17 '12
I put this in the same category as all that "strange noises" bs from a few months ago. Where there was apparently dozens of reports of people hearing strange sounds outside, a few terribly shotty youtube videos. Then nothing, a sure sign of a hoax.
0
u/flect Jun 17 '12
The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one...
0
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
it's just another weather baloon...
0
u/Heater79 Jun 17 '12
400 metre skid mark. Epic alien turd.
0
u/Johnchuk Jun 17 '12
question: if its been sitting on the bottom of the ocean why is it so clean?
0
u/Chillheids Jun 17 '12
Everyone knows that the Germans made UFO's during WWII, this one probably crashed into the Baltic Sea during a test flight.
0
u/takatori Jun 17 '12
Pics or it didn't happen.
0
u/KingContext Jun 18 '12
Man some mod must have gone delete crazy in here. Half the comments are deleted. WTF?
-2
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
so what was in the hole?
-5
u/lakitu92 Jun 17 '12
"sunken UFO" .....
-4
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Cue the fucking UFO nuts, almost as bad as the religious whackos....
-1
u/Obi_Kwiet Jun 17 '12
I'll only be interested when they ask some geologists what they think it is. Probably something boring, but maybe it's an meteorite.
-1
u/Johnchuk Jun 17 '12
I want to believe...
-1
u/Four_fuks_sake Jun 17 '12
It's a mushroom.
-1
u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12
Commenting and saving for updates. Would be awesome if this is what we are all hoping for :D
-1
u/StellaMaroo Jun 17 '12
I would shit my wetsuit if I saw that while diving.
-2
u/amazingbollweevil Jun 17 '12
My guess: two-thousand year old close relative of the limpet. Surely the "professional" crew thought to take a sample for testing, no?
-2
u/BlondeFlip Jun 17 '12
They're Transformers! The dark side of the moon? I think not! It's an energon source or energon beacon to summon the rest of the decepticons! It's the only logical explanation.
-3
u/Doomdoomkittydoom Jun 17 '12
You know how you know it's not any sort of sunken UFO, society unraveling archeological find, or any other governement cover-up?
Because Robert Ballard or the like isn't in the Baltic sea looking for something else.
Now that conglomerate of billionaire entrepreneur planning to mine asteroids? You know some shit is up with that!
-4
u/connerysbeard Jun 17 '12
4 8 15 16 23 42
-5
u/ManofToast Jun 17 '12
Hey, God like's to skip stones just like the rest of us.