Here's why this gigantic Antarctic iceberg pictured by NASA looks unnaturally rectangular

Credit: NASA ICE

A stunning almost unnaturally rectangular-looking iceberg has set the internet abuzz after it was captured on camera by NASA in the Antarctic.

As part of its Operation IceBridge mission, NASA ICE has captured stunning images of ice formations.

Triangular iceberg off the Larsen ice shelf in the Weddell Sea. Credit: NASA ICE

Operation IceBridge maps the Earth's polar ice to help understand connections between polar regions, the global climate system and annual changes in the thickness of ice sheets and glaciers.

Credit: NASA ICE

Kelly Brunt, an ice scientist with NASA and at the University of Maryland explained how the rectangular iceberg ended up in that almost geometrically perfect shape, in a conversation with LiveScience.

There are two types of icebergs, she said; ones that most people imagine that look like prisms or triangles with the vast majority of the mass sitting below the surface of the sea, and tabular icebergs.

Tabular icebergs split from ice shelves, and are often as a result wide, flat and long she explained - hence the shape of this one.

The sharp corners and uniform length and breadth suggest it is fresh, as the wind and sea hasn't had a chance to erode it.

This one came from the crumbling Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula.

The mission has provided some truly awe-inspiring images.

NASA ICE has captured mesmerising landscapes. Credit: NASA ICE
Sunset captured on the way to Punta Arenas, Chile. Credit: NASA ICE
Credit: NASA ICE