The Desert Disc: Mystery Object Spotted in New Mexico Mountains

High in the New Mexico mountains, a mysterious white disc sparked wild theories of UFOs and secret bases, but the truth would prove to be hidden in decades-old government records.

To the People on Google Maps recent find, the mountains of New Mexico – a large white disc half buried in the ground. Sitting 7,400 feet up in a remote area called Sierra Ladrones, the disc — about 34 miles from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge — is what’s known as a “large radio antenna.

When it first appeared online, many were putting forth theories about what it could be. Some speculated that it could be a UFO that had crashed there eons ago, while others said it had metal pieces on the top and was surrounded by foliage. The disc seems to measure around 30 feet across.

To crack the case, scientists examined older images of the same location. They uncovered something of interest: in 1975, there was a black box-shaped structure there. The disc was out by 2003. However, images from 1996 reveal that there was nothing there — just empty land.

While some on social media were calling for someone to take a drone to the site to do a flyover, others did some poking around. The real answer, as a user on a fact-checking site called Metabunk discovered: It’s actually a rainwater collection system that was later changed to a different structure. They verified this by sifting through historical records held by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The piece also cites another fun Google Maps discovery in Los Angeles, which features someone using a series of letters written on the ground to spell out the word “HELP” and other copious letters in close proximity to a storage plot. While it alarmed people online, local residents noted that a man named Jose had been authoring these communications for years (the reason was a mystery).

Satellite imagery can occasionally create puzzles for which the answers are quite simple when we care to look closely enough.

(Source: DailyMail.co.uk | Photo: DailyMail.co.uk)