The day frozen continent of Antarctica was revealed: How 1820 changed world map forever | World News

New Delhi: On January 28, 1820, the world encountered a landmass never seen before, the icy continent we now call Antarctica. This discovery became a historic milestone in exploration and revealed one of the most remote and mysterious regions on Earth. The first observation came from a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev.

The Russian Antarctic expedition set out between 1819 and 1821 under the command of Bellingshausen, a Baltic German officer in the Russian navy. In Mirny he commanded the ship Vostok, of which Lazarev was second in command. They were among the first explorers after Captain Cook to cross the Antarctic Circle.

In January 1820 they saw extensive ice formations. These were later considered the first confirmed images of the coastline of Antarctica, now called Peter I Island and Alexander Coast.

The expedition began under the orders of Tsar Alexander I, who wanted to expand Russia’s maritime knowledge and confirm the existence of the southern continent. On July 4, 1819, two ships, Vostok and Mirny, left Kronstadt, carrying sailors, scientists, and explorers ready to sail into unknown waters.

The voyage took almost two years and encountered deadly storms and dangerous ice before reaching latitude 69°21’28” south on January 28, 1820. Bellingshausen and Lazarev recorded sightings of huge ice structures they called “Materi Led,” which is now known as the first confirmed image of Antarctic land.

Two days later other explorers approached the site, but the discovery is thought to have been made by Bellingshausen’s expedition. Later in 1820, American seal hunter Nathaniel Palmer reported seeing part of Antarctic land during his November voyage.

This early discovery opened the door to centuries of scientific study and adventure on one of the world’s last great frontiers.