Antarctica Day

The southernmost continent of the Earth was discovered in 1820 by Russian navigators M.P. Lazarev and F.F. Bellingshausen. The continent, located inside the Arctic Circle and 98% covered with ice, is considered the least explored on the planet. Since 2009, December 1 is celebrated as Antarctica Day. The second most important holiday for the continent is Midwinter, which falls on the southern solstice. The date of Antarctica Day is dedicated to the signing on December 1, 1959 of the international treaty on Antarctica, which secures the use of the continent exclusively for peaceful purposes. The continent has an extremely harsh cold climate, but is seismically calm - only small volcanic eruptions have been observed in the last 200 years. There are 89 research stations in Antarctica. Of these, 41 are seasonal due to the short polar summer. The continent is considered a no-fly zone for civil aviation due to its inaccessibility for rescue operations. However, Antarctica is visited not only by scientists and military personnel from various countries of the world. In 2008, Father Frost came to the mainland from his Moscow residence in Kuzminki. He gave the Russian polar explorer gifts from relatives and friends. In 2016, after a meeting in Cuba with the Pope, Patriarch Kirill visited Antarctica. Before this, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church had never set foot on its soil. The Patriarch arrived at the Ardley Island base and held a symbolic baptism of the mainland there. The remoteness of the sixth continent of the Earth and the lack of free access leads to the creation of various myths and legends. Thus, ufologists claim that the ban on exploring Antarctica is due to the fact that there are alien bases there. According to researchers of extraterrestrial civilizations, the South Pole is by no means a permafrost zone: ice is found only on the approaches to Antarctica, and it itself is covered with evergreen vegetation. Until May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany laid claim to the so-called New Swabia. The area, also known as Queen Maud Land, is located in Antarctica. Before the start of World War II, the Germans brought mining equipment, electric locomotives, rails, trolleys, tractors and cutters for digging tunnels through rocks to their secret “base 211.” Engineers, scientists and highly qualified workers were transported on ships and submarines of the Third Reich. According to one version of alternative historians, Hitler and his entourage, after defeat in the war, hid in the territory of New Swabia. This guess is confirmed by the sad ending of the expedition of US Navy Rear Admiral Richard Byrd, who headed to Antarctica with 4 thousand troops at the end of 1946. The flotilla included the aircraft carrier Casablanca with 7 helicopters and 12 aircraft and 12 ships equipped with the latest science and technology. The expedition landed on the shores of Dronning Maud Land on February 1, 1947 and began an operation codenamed “High Jump”. However, on March 2, the US fleet was unexpectedly attacked by unknown naval forces, whose ships looked like flying saucers. During the battle, 40 soldiers were killed, 12 American planes were shot down, and one of the ships sank. The squadron weighed anchor and hastily sailed from the shores of Antarctica. Subsequently, members of R. Baird's expedition talked about strange flying disks that emerged from under the water, and atmospheric phenomena that caused panic and mental disorders in people. The results of the classified US investigation are still unknown. It is known that back in the 30s. XX century The Germans had drawings of mysterious disc planes - technology allegedly transferred to them by aliens. One can only guess who attacked the US fleet in 1946. It is possible that answers to this and other questions related to the southernmost continent of the Earth will be found thanks to the annually celebrated Antarctica Day.