Google Maps has scary pictures; understand the 'mysteries' | Maps and location

Google Maps is Google's online map, a very useful tool for discovering routes anywhere, without leaving your home. The Street View feature has already mapped and captured images of streets around the world, including some of the most intriguing and frightening on the Internet.

READ: Google Maps debuts feature that helps Brazilians; check out

Photos with shadows, accidents and appearances are chilling at first sight. But not everything that seems. So Google revealed the mystery behind some of the bizarre photos on Google Maps.

Little-known Google Maps functions

Little-known Google Maps functions

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1. A portal to another dimension

A quick walk across the Manhattan Bridge can take you to a portal to another dimension. Or something like that. The route seems apparently normal in Google Street View, until a time when the street becomes grainy and the colors are extremely saturated.

The strange portal on the Manhattan Bridge in New York Photo: Divulgao / GoogleThe strange portal on the Manhattan Bridge in New York Photo: Divulgao / Google

The strange portal on the Manhattan Bridge in New York Photo: Divulgao / Google

As much as the change seems bizarre, the explanation is simple and is associated with one of the most common problems in photography. Color and grain are caused by the lack of ambient lighting. The camera then needs to increase its sensitivity to light (ISO) in order to capture the image, causing noise and a loss of quality.

At Lake Harriet, in the US state of Minnesota, an image of a plane makes it look like a terrible accident happened at the scene. The aircraft appears as a shadow, implying that it is submerged in water. But the truth is that no tragedy happened.

The plane at the bottom of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis Photo: Divulgao / Google The plane at the bottom of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis Photo: Divulgao / Google

The plane at the bottom of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis Photo: Divulgao / Google

The images taken by the satellite are actually compilations of several photographs. The shadow effect caused by processing these photos. Often, planes fly over the moment these images are captured and, therefore, appear less clearly.

Imagine that you are on Google Street View strolling down a street in Florianpolis, Santa Catarina, and suddenly you are faced with a macabre shadow. By the outline of the image, it is very easy to think that we are seeing a haunt. But, believe me, nothing like that.

The alleged appearance in Florianpolis, Santa Catarina Photo: Divulgao / GoogleThe alleged appearance in Florianpolis, Santa Catarina Photo: Divulgao / Google

The alleged appearance in Florianpolis, Santa Catarina Photo: Divulgao / Google

As scary as it sounds, the effect is caused by a simple mistake. The camera is covered. The little light that can get through the crack makes this distorted effect appear in the image.

This image of an art museum in Singapore may seem like a definitive proof for the existence of life on another plane. But make no mistake. Photos of "ghosts" are quite common on Google Street View because of their cameras that take pictures in motion.

The ghost of the Singapore museum Photo: Divulgao / GoogleThe ghost of the Singapore museum Photo: Divulgao / Google

The ghost of the Singapore museum Photo: Divulgao / Google

The photos taken are processed on the computer before going to Google Maps. And in the process, some of the still photographs are joined together to form a panorama. In this case, the person in the photo is "cropped" because the camera only captured a moving body part.

5. The dark side of the yard

Among the cases of scary photos, there are others of people who simply take the opportunity to appear on Google Street View, creating funny and strange scenes. In this example, we have a likely Star Wars fan who was in place and at the right time to represent the dark side of the force on the street of his home.

Some people show up on Street View to create funny and strange photos. Photo: Divulgao / GoogleSome people show up on Street View to create funny and strange photos. Photo: Divulgao / Google

Some people show up on Street View to create funny and strange photos. Photo: Divulgao / Google