Stunning photos taken from inside a large, mysteriously-formed Siberian crater
By RYAN GORMAN
Scientists have rappelled down into a massive crater that formed recently in Siberia – and have shared staggering new images from inside.
Pictures shared with AOL News by the Siberian Times show the roughly 54-foot-deep hole in the ground from all angles. It is one of a few that mysteriously formed earlier this year.
The brave team was able to determine that the base of the crater is a frozen lake at least 34-feet-deep, according to the paper.
The lead scientist told the Times of their journey to the bottom of the hole at temperatures averaging 12-degrees Fahrenheit.
"We managed to go down into the funnel, all was successful," said Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration "We used climbing equipment, and it is easier to do this in winter, than in summer, with the ground now hard.
"We took all the probes we planned, and made measurements. Now scientists need time to process all the data and only then can they draw conclusions."
Incredible pictures taken from the base show researchers inching their way down the snow and ice walls of the crater with the sky above, seemingly another world away.
The images shown are from the largest of three known craters, all of which are believed to have formed this year.
Scientists are trying to determine how exactly they appeared.
Theories run from gas hydrates causing underground explosions caused by heating from above that is caused by global warming to manmade hoaxes, meteorites, stray missiles or possibly even aliens.
Gas hydrates in the Atlantic Ocean are believed to cause the foggy effect experienced in the Bermuda Triangle, among other factors that have caused ships to sink and planes to crash.
Pushkarev did not say how long he believed it would take his team to decipher the cause of the craters.
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