[karajorma]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20442487

A South Pacific island, shown on marine charts and world maps as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps, does not exist, Australian scientists say.

The supposedly sizeable strip of land, named Sandy Island on Google maps, was positioned midway between Australia and French-governed New Caledonia.

But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea.

The phantom island has featured in publications for at least a decade.

Scientist Maria Seton, who was on the ship, said that the team was expecting land, not 1,400m (4,620ft) of deep ocean.

"We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 1,400m in that area - very deep," Dr Seton, from the University of Sydney, told the AFP news agency after the 25-day voyage.

"It's on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island. We're really puzzled. It's quite bizarre.

"How did it find its way onto the maps? We just don't know, but we plan to follow up and find out."

Australian newspapers have reported that the invisible island would sit within French territorial waters if it existed - but does not feature on French government maps.

Australia's Hydrographic Service, which produces the country's nautical charts, says its appearance on some scientific maps and Google Earth could just be the result of human error, repeated down the years.

A spokesman from the service told Australian newspapers that while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements, that was was not usually the case with nautical charts because it would reduce confidence in them.

A spokesman for Google said they consult a variety of authoritative sources when making their maps.

"The world is a constantly changing place, the Google spokesman told AFP, "and keeping on top of these changes is a never-ending endeavour'.'

The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Sydney says that while most explorers dream of discovering uncharted territory, the Australian team appears to have done the opposite - and cartographers everywhere are now rushing to undiscover Sandy Island for ever.

Cloaking device?

[Legate Damar]

You saw nothing. Especially not a phase-cloaked Obsidian Order observation base.

[headdie]

nuke the area to be sure

[Nuke]

how do you think it disappeared?
my nuclear weapons program: 1
delusional trekkies: 0

[BritishShivans]

No, that's just the secret Australian super-dreadnought Australian Superiority testing it's submersible capabilities. 

It doesn't exist, by the way, and you saw nothing. 

[Legate Damar]

how do you think it disappeared?
my nuclear weapons program: 1
delusional trekkies: 0

Or maybe that is what we want you to think...

[Pred the Penguin]

The largest whale ever to live surfacing.

[NGTM-1R]

This thread does not exist, citizen.

[Luis Dias]

Name is Blonde. James Blonde.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

The largest whale ever to live surfacing.

Interestingly, I'm just reading Moby Dick, and it is mentioned that floating dead whales are often mistaken for islands (mind you, this was written in the mid 19th century). These would end up in the nautical maps, and ships made wide detours around them. So now I'm wondering how big this island is, and when it was first charted?

Judging by Google Maps, though, it would have to be a very large whale indeed - some 10 by 40 km, at first sight.

[Scotty]

If you try to find the island now, it's apparently been sharpied out of existence on Google Maps. 

[yuezhi]

those bloody french and their nuke experiments.

[The E]

As all Cultists know, Rlyeh may rise to the surface periodically, so that Cthulhu can check if the stars are indeed right.

[BritishShivans]

Cthulhu is a much-loved ally of the Australian nation. He rises periodically to give his blessings to our Dear Leader. 

[watsisname]

It was aliens.

Definitely aliens.

[Alex Heartnet]

Apparently a bunch of radio hams figured this out a decade ago.  Of course, they weren't 'experts', so they weren't taken seriously like the scientists are now.

[Nemesis6]

It's completely blacked out:

[Nuke]

it was probibly a spot created by poor stitching together of image/mapping data, and given a name by the tech to avoid getting into trouble with the boss.

[Scotty]

The OP mentions that this particular island has been featured proudly on printed maps and marine charts for over a decade, and probably a lot longer.

The odds of this being an image error are slim to none.

[Black Wolf]

Still seems to be there - check -19.184084,159.942684