Virtual Flight Through The Crack in Antarctica

For the last four months, researchers from NASA's Operation IceBridge have been conducting airborne measurements of the 18-mile-long, 240-foot broad rift in Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier. Should the crack continue through the rest of the ice shelf, it will release a 350-square-mile iceberg. If that isn't enough to grab your attention, they've also produced remarkable animations simulating a fly-through of the ice valley. Click here for the 15 MB version, here for the high-def 96 MB show. All it's missing are yetis throwing snowballs at you as you pass.

--Paul Rauber / image by NASA IceBridge