Antarctica is the Earth’s southernmost continent, located on the South Pole, where temperatures can be as low as -90C. Anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 scientists reside there at various research facilities, carrying out their own experiments. In December 2016, five scientists in two submarines submerged into the unknown in what became the “deepest dive ever”.
A channel off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, known as “Iceberg Alley”, was selected for the dive and the BBC Blue Planet team went along with their cameras.
What they found was stunning.
The series revealed a seabed crawling with life, including giant sea-spiders, krill and an ancient “ice dragon” fish.
However, there was one animal that scientists on board found hard to forget.
Dr Jon Copley, associate professor at the University of Southampton, who was a driving force behind the exploration, revealed how the group were stunned by one fish in particular.
He wrote in November 2017: “A favourite from our dive – the Antarctic Sunstar – Labidiaster Annulatus.
“It is a relative of the familiar five-armed starfish.
“Nicknamed ‘the Death Star’ by those inside the subs who watched its behaviour, it has up to 50 arms and grows larger than a dinner plate.
“It uses those arms like fishing rods, holding them up off the seabed to snag passing krill, thanks to tiny pincers on its skin that snap shut when anything brushes past them.”
Dr Copley previously revealed how the exploration was groundbreaking for science in the icy continent.
He said in July 2017: “Sending people a kilometre deep into the ocean around Antarctica for the first time shows that there is no longer any part of our blue planet that is inaccessible to us if we can find the will to go there.
“Unlike the harsh Antarctic conditions above the waves, the deep ocean here is a haven for life – thanks to almost 24-hour sunlight where we were diving, plankton bloom and krill feast on them, in turn ensuring plenty of food reaches the seafloor.
“The abundance of life down there is spectacular, with two-metre barrel sponges and giant sea-spiders with 40 cm leg spans.”