It has been 111 years since it sank, and yet it never ceases to fascinate us. The Titanic is much more than Leonardo DiCaprio saying, “I’m the king of the world!” and debates about whether both could fit on that plank. It is a tourist attraction in its own right, with museums built around it (the one in Belfast, where the ship departed, is a must-visit). Books and various forms of audiovisual material have been created about it, but we will never fully comprehend it. As Álex Ubago would say, that’s where the magic lies.
Near, far, wherever you are
We know a lot about the Titanic: its passenger list, who survived, what was said on the night of the accident, and that two people could fit on that plank. However, there are still many essential questions to which we thought we would never have answers. After all, the ship is sunk four kilometers deep in the ocean, and only a few can afford the expensive tourist trips (sometimes they don’t even reach the bottom).
But the absurdly detailed 3D model that has come to light as part of Magellan Ltd’s expeditions sheds new light on the mysteries of the ship. It is so meticulously perfected that we can even see the serial numbers on some of the pieces, even after years of corrosion. There are still years of research ahead, but the idea behind this scanner is to find out exactly what happened beyond “it hit an iceberg.”
To create these absolutely incredible images, specialists sent remotely operated submersibles for over 200 hours, capturing 700,000 photos from every angle, covering every small area. Considering that scientists believe there is less and less time before bacteria irreversibly consume the Titanic, it is fantastic news that it will be preserved in 3D format for exploration.
In fact, details such as people’s shoes or the beginning of the magnificent staircase can be appreciated, all meticulously measured so that over a century later, we can finally tell James Cameron that his movie wasn’t entirely accurate. No, not ‘Avatar 2,’ the other one.
