Gateway to Hell is CLOSING: Giant 1,000C burning desert crater finally reduces to ‘faint flames' after nearly 50 years
A NOTORIOUS 1,000 degree desert crater dubbed the "Gateway to Hell" is finally closing as the fiery inferno has died down to mere "faint flames".
The infamous pit's blaze has been raging on for 50 years without dying down - but boffins have now said the nightmare hole is closing.
9
9
9
9
Formed in 1971 in Turkmenistan, the Darvaza crater is said to have come from curious Soviet scientists who drilled a hole into the ground and hit a gas pocket.
The bumbling researchers then decided to set it alight, giving birth to the nightmare formation.
Located in the Karakum desert, the 230ft-wide sinkhole has become one of the former Soviet nation's most popular tourist attractions.
About 65ft deep, the formation is known officially as the "Shining of Karakum".
Researchers said the flames started to die down because all the flammable gas in the crater was nearly used up.
Officials said that fires are now three times smaller than their original intimidating size.
Previously visible from a distance, the fires are now only seen in the crater's "immediate vicinity".
Director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz Irina Luryeva said: "Before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell'.
"Today only a faint source of combustion remains."
The exact origin of the pit was covered up by Soviet officials who left behind no official record of the ordeal.
Shocking moment 1,000ft fiery lava jet erupts in 6-hour volcano frenzy as scientists warn of wind spreading toxic gas
But the most commonly accepted theory is that scientists drilled into natural gas and then set it alight.
It is speculated that they ignited the crater to prevent toxic gases from escaping into the air.
Rather than petering out within a few days like the geologists predicted, it instead went on to rage for another five decades.
The crater emitted a continuous stream of fire, with bright orange and red hues, which became especially dramatic at night.
The heat from the flames were said to be intense, and the sight of the monstrous flame pit in the middle of the desert was otherworldly, contributing to its ominous nickname.
Animals reportedly fell into the hole on occasion and met a grisly end.
9
9
The hole's death comes after the Turkmenistan government repeatedly raised the prospect of possibly sealing the blazing furnace, according to CNN.
In August last year, Dylan Lupine, one of the pioneers of tourism to Turkmenistan with his UK-based company Lupine Travel, said: 'I would say it's only burning at around 40% of the level I first witnessed there in 2009."
Nobody had ever dreamt of venturing into the blazing crater, until George Kourounis' expedition in 2013.
The fearless explorer was the first person to descend into the "Gates of Hell", and discovered something which could help prove the existence of aliens.
Jaw-dropping images showed George rappelling down into the 1,1000 degree inferno.
What caused the Darvaza crater inferno?
by Harvey Geh
The Darvaza crater was caused by a Soviet gas drilling accident in 1971.
Geologists hit a gas pocket when drilling into the ground, and then lit the leaking gas, thinking it would burn out in weeks.
Instead, the crater has burned non-stop for over 50 years, earning the nickname the 'Gates of Hell.'
Flames shoot up high with intense heat and a roaring sound day and night.
It is located deep in Turkmenistan's Karakum desert.
Tourists camp nearby to witness the eerie glow and take jaw-dropping photos.
It is now reportedly petering out - but continues to burn as the gates slowly close.
The Canadian could be seen dangling above molten rocks spewing hot gases while he descends into the blazing furnace dressed in a protective silver suit.
The intention of his trip to hell and back was to gather more information about extreme environments.
George said: 'The most important part of the mission and the whole thrust behind this entire expedition was to take some samples of the soil at the bottom—sand, basically—and see if there is any extremophile bacteria living at the bottom that could give us clues to basically life in these extreme environments.'
He added: 'There are planets that have been discovered outside of our solar system that have a very hot, methane-rich environment kind of similar to what is in the crater.
"So, in essence, we were looking for alien life right here on Earth.'
9
9
9
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The iconic landmarks set to be wiped out by The Big One... as experts raise earthquake threat level
The Hollywood sign and the Golden Gate Bridge are among the iconic landmarks set to be wiped out by a huge earthquake when 'The Big One' hits California, experts warn. The devastating seismic event is guaranteed to happen according to scientists, who are increasingly sure it will occur in the next three decades.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Scientists create the 'world's smallest violin'
A team of scientists have created the 'world's smallest violin' - which is tinier than a speck of dust and needs a microscope to see it!The micro-violin was created using nanotechnology by a team at Loughborough measures 35 microns long and 13 microns wide - a micron is one millionth of a metre - for comparison a human hair is around 17 to 180 microns the tiny violin is just an image and not a playable instrument, so it cannot be officially confirmed as the world's smallest violin, the university said. The tiny violin was created to test the abilities of the university's new nanolithography system, which allows researchers to build and study tiny structures."Though creating the world's smallest violin may seem like fun and games, a lot of what we've learned in the process has actually laid the groundwork for the research we're now undertaking," said Professor Kelly Morrison, Head of the Physics department at Loughborough University."Our nanolithography system allows us to design experiments that probe materials in different ways – using light, magnetism, or electricity – and observe their responses."Once we understand how materials behave, we can start applying that knowledge to develop new technologies, whether it's improving computing efficiency or finding new ways to harvest energy," she said. How did they make it? To create the violin the researchers coated a tiny chip with two layers of gel-like material called a resist, before placing it under a nano-sculpting the machine uses a heated, needle-like tip to "write" very precise patterns on the nanoscale - in this case a violin shape - in a process called thermal scanning probe that a thin layer of platinum was poured into the carved out pattern to leave behind the finished whole process takes around three hours, but the research team's final version took several months to make, as they tested different techniques to get the best result.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Major HIV breakthrough forces hidden fragments of the virus to emerge so it can be cleared from the body
Experts could have found a way to be one step closer to curing HIV for good. Researchers in Australia has developed a new treatment that forces hidden fragments of the virus - normally concealed within human cells - to emerge and expose themselves to the immune system. The breakthrough could enable the body, aided by antiviral drugs, to detect and destroy any lingering viral reservoirs. HIV has remained incurable because the virus can integrate itself into a cell's DNA, laying dormant and undetectable to both medication and immune defenses. Scientists said they've created a nanoparticle capable of delivering genetic instructions to infected cells, prompting them to produce a signal that reveals the virus's presence. Dr Paula Cevaal of the Doherty Institute and co-author of the study told The Guardian that the feat was 'previously thought impossible'. Cevaal said: 'In the field of biomedicine, many things eventually don't make it into the clinic, that is the unfortunate truth; I don't want to paint a prettier picture than what is the reality. 'But in terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, we have never seen anything close to as good as what we are seeing, in terms of how well we are able to reveal this virus. 'So, from that point of view, we're very hopeful that we are also able to see this type of response in an animal, and that we could eventually do this in humans.' The discovery was first revealed in the journal Nature Communications, where researchers said they were initially so astonished that they had to rerun the tests. Further research would be needed to determine whether revealing the virus would be enough to trigger an immune response, with tests only being carried out in the lab. It could still take years before clinical trials for the drug began, when it would have to go through rigorous testing before reaching consumers. However, the advance represents another step forward for the 1.2 million Americans currently living with an HIV infection - for which they took drugs daily. An estimated 31,800 people were believed to be infected every year, although that's a 12 per cent decline on five years ago. Globally, nearly 40 million people have the virus. The new nanoparticle's based on mRNA technology, the same as was used in covid vaccines made by Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers. In their paper, the scientists revealed that they could deliver mRNA instructions to cells using the nanoparticle. The mRNA then instruct cells to generate substances that reveal the presence of HIV, but only if the virus was present. The study done in the laboratory was carried out in cells donated by HIV patients.
