Reagan-era iceberg once twice the size of Rhode Island now faces complete disintegration: NASA

An iceberg that broke disconnected from Antarctica 40 years agone and is 1 of the largest ever tracked by scientists is connected the verge of "complete disintegration," NASA said connected Thursday.

A-23A was doubly the size of Rhode Island erstwhile it archetypal detached from Antarctica successful 1986 — during a twelvemonth erstwhile "Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, and the movie ‘Top Gun’ was mounting container bureau records," the abstraction bureau noted.

It is present floating successful the South Atlantic betwixt the eastbound extremity of South America and South Georgia island.

The iceberg was conscionable implicit 1,500 quadrate miles successful 1986, and the U.S. National Ice Center estimates it has dwindled to 456 quadrate miles aboriginal this year, aft respective sizable pieces broke disconnected past summertime arsenic it moved to a warmer climate.

SCIENTISTS DETECT MYSTERIOUS RADIO WAVES COMING FROM BENEATH ANTARCTICA'S ICE

A photograph of A-23A taken from the International Space Station connected Dec. 27, 2025.  (NASA)

Despite its dwindling size, the berg remains 1 of the largest successful the world, larger than New York City.

A-23A, which is turning bluish arsenic it’s soaked with meltwater, was captured by a NASA outer the time aft Christmas.

A NASA idiosyncratic aboard the International Space Station took a close-up photograph of the berg a time aboriginal that showed an "even much extended melt pool."

The bluish and achromatic stripes disposable connected the iceberg are apt related to striations that occurred hundreds of years agone erstwhile it was portion of a glacier dragging crossed Antarctic bedrock.

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS REVEAL WWI-ERA SUBMARINE 1,300 FEET BEFORE SURFACE WHERE 19 SAILORS PERISHED IN 1917

A outer photograph taken of A-23A connected Dec. 26, 2025.  (NASA)

"It's awesome that these striations inactive amusement up aft truthful overmuch clip has passed, monolithic amounts of snowfall person fallen, and a large woody of melting has occurred from below," retired University of Maryland Baltimore County idiosyncratic Chris Shuman told NASA.

The iceberg besides appears to person "sprung a leak," with the value of the h2o pooling a the apical creating capable unit astatine the edges for a "blowout," NASA said.

The iceberg could beryllium betwixt days and weeks from disintegration, scientists say. 

The iceberg northbound of South Georgia Island successful September 2025.  (NASA)

"I surely don't expect A-23A to past done the austral summer," Shuman said, referring to summertime successful the Southern Hemisphere, which lasts from December to February.

"Even by Antarctic standards, A-23A has had a long, winding travel afloat of unexpected chapters that person improved scientists' knowing of the 'megabergs' occasionally released into the Southern Ocean," NASA said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The iceberg sat successful the shallow h2o of the Weddell Sea successful teh Southern Ocean for much than 30 years, earlier breaking escaped successful 2020 and into an water whirlpool for respective months.

It past moved north, astir colliding with South Georgia Island, eastbound of the Falklands, earlier heading retired into the unfastened water wherever it rapidly began to interruption isolated past year.