Pluto's mysterious 'dark heart

 

 

 

 

Nasa releases stunning flyover animation of mountains and vast icy plains in Pluto's mysterious 'dark heart' High-definition images of Pluto reveal peculiar icy plains that are no more than 100 million years old The icy plains - resembling frozen mud cracks on Earth - have been informally named 'Sputnik Planum' The dwarf planet also features 11,000ft (3,350 metre) mountains made of ice, similar in size to the Rockies New Horizons has captured more than 1,200 pictures of Pluto that will be released over the next 16 months It made its closest approach to the Pluto system on Tuesday after a 3 billion-mile journey that took 9.5 years Remarkable, high-definition images and a 3D flyover of Pluto have been released revealing the vast icy landscape of the dwarf planet. The stunning images of Pluto's 'heart of darkness' were unveiled alongside two breathtaking animations showing flyovers of the plains and mountains of the frozen world. 'I'm a little biased, but I think the solar system saved the best for last,' New Horizons' principle investigator, Alan Stern, said during the unveiling. ‹ SLIDE ME › In the center left of Pluto's vast heart-shaped feature lies a vast, crater-less plain than is suspected to be no more than 100 million years old. Slide left to see an annotated view of the region, dubbed Pluto's Sputnik Planum. Mounds and fields of small pits are visible across the surface, alongside irregularly shaped segments that are ringed by narrow troughs, some of which contain darker material In the latest data from New Horizons, a new close-up image of Pluto reveals a vast, craterless plain that appears to be no more than 100 million years old, and is possibly still being shaped by geologic processes. This frozen region is north of Pluto's icy mountains, in the center-left of the heart feature, informally named 'Tombaugh Regio' after Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. 'This terrain is not easy to explain,' said Jeff Moore, leader of the New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and Imaging Team (GGI). 'The discovery of vast, craterless, very young plains on Pluto exceeds all pre-flyby expectations.' The icy plains region - resembling frozen mud cracks on Earth - has been informally named 'Sputnik Planum' (Sputnik Plain) after the Earth's first artificial satellite. It has a broken surface of irregularly-shaped segments, roughly 12 miles (20km) across, bordered by what appear to be shallow troughs. Some of these troughs have darker material within them, while others are traced by clumps of hills that appear to rise above the surrounding terrain. Animated flyover of Pluto's icy mountains and plains   +20 This fascinating icy plains region - resembling frozen mud cracks on Earth - has been informally named 'Sputnik Planum' (Sputnik Plain) after the Earth's first artificial satellite. It has a broken surface of irregularly-shaped segments, roughly 12 miles (20km) across +20 The stunning images of Pluto's 'heart of darkness' were unveiled alongside two breathtaking animations of the dwarf planet, showing flyovers of the plains and mountains (pictured) of the frozen world Elsewhere, the surface appears to be etched by fields of small pits that may have formed by a process called sublimation, in which ice turns directly from solid to gas, just as dry ice does on Earth. PLUTO'S ICY PLAINS REVEALED The craterless plain that appears to be no more than 100 million years old. Scientists suggest this means they are being shaped by geologic processes. They resemble frozen mud cracks on Earth - has been informally named 'Sputnik Planum' after the Earth's first artificial satellite. Some of these troughs have darker material within them, while others are traced by clumps of hills that appear to rise above the surrounding terrain. Elsewhere, the surface appears to be etched by fields of small pits that may have formed by a process called sublimation, in which ice turns directly from solid to gas, just as dry ice does on Earth. The irregular shapes may be the result of the contraction of surface materials, similar to what happens when mud dries. Or hey may be a product of convection, similar to wax rising in a lava lamp. Scientists have two theories as to how these segments were formed. The irregular shapes may be the result of the contraction of surface materials, similar to what happens when mud dries. Or, they may be a product of convection, similar to wax rising in a lava lamp. The dwarf planet's icy plains also display dark streaks that are a few miles long. These streaks appear to be aligned in the same direction and may have been produced by winds blowing across the frozen surface. The Tuesday 'heart of the heart' image was taken when New Horizons was 48,000 miles (77,000km) from Pluto, and shows features as small as one-half mile (1km) across. Mission scientists will learn more about these mysterious terrains from higher-resolution and stereo images that New Horizons will pull from its digital recorders and send back to Earth during the next year. The New Horizons Atmospheres team observed Pluto's atmosphere as far as 1,000 miles (1,600km) above the surface, demonstrating that Pluto's nitrogen-rich atmosphere is quite extended. This is the first observation of Pluto's atmosphere at altitudes higher than 170 miles above the surface (270km). The New Horizons Particles and Plasma team has discovered a region of cold, dense ionised gas tens of thousands of miles beyond Pluto - the planet's atmosphere being stripped away by the solar wind and lost to space. 'This is just a first tantalising look at Pluto's plasma environment,' said New Horizons co-investigator Fran Bagenal, University of Colorado, Boulder. 'With the flyby in the rearview mirror, a decade-long journey to Pluto is over  - but, the science payoff is only beginning,' said Jim Green, director of Planetary Science at Nasa Headquarters in Washington. 'Data from New Horizons will continue to fuel discovery for years to come.' 'We've only scratched the surface of our Pluto exploration, but it already seems clear to me that in the initial reconnaissance of the solar system, the best was saved for last,' Stern added. See the base of the heart-shaped feature on Pluto   +20 Peering closely at the 'heart of Pluto,' in the western half of what mission scientists have informally named Tombaugh Regio (Tombaugh Region), New Horizon's Ralph instrument revealed evidence of carbon monoxide ice. The contours indicate that the concentration of frozen carbon monoxide increases towards the center of the 'bull's eye' +20 +20 Homing in on Pluto's small satellite Nix, New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager captured the left image, which shows features as small as 4 miles (6 kilometers across). Mission scientists believe we are looking at one end of an elongated body about 25 miles (40km) in diameter. On the right is a mosaic of the icy plains, which appear next to the mountainous region that has been compared to the Rockies New Horizons also released its first up-close image of Nix — one of Pluto's five known moons, named after the Greek goddess of darkness and night. PLUTO'S 11,000FT ICE MOUNTAINS The first high-resolution image of Pluto's surface beamed by New Horizons revealed 11,000ft (3,350 metre) mountains made of ice. Released alongside new pictures of Pluto's moons Charon and Hydra, it provided the first evidence that geological activity is still taking place on the icy world. Scientists were shocked to see mountains as high as those in the Rockies that likely formed 100 million years ago - mere youngsters relative to the 4.56-billion-year age of the solar system. Nasa says they may still be in the process of building. Like the rest of Pluto, this region would presumably have been pummeled by space debris for billions of years and would have once been heavily cratered - unless recent activity had given the region a facelift, erasing those pockmarks. Mission scientists believe the image shows one end of an elongated body about 25 miles (40km) in diameter. And ahead of today's release, Nasa unveiled a high-resolution image of Charon that showed a mystery spike on the moon's surface. It was taken from the New Horizons spacecraft on July 14th at 6:30AM ET, when it was 49,000 miles (78,850km) away from the satellite. The grey inset in the image shows a region 200 miles (320km) long, filled with craters and a mysterious 'mountain in a moat' at the bottom left-hand corner. 'This is a feature that has geologists stunned and stumped,' said Jeff Moore with Nasa's Ames Research Center. The image gives a preview of what the surface of this large moon will look like in future close-ups from Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft. So far, the probe has captured more than 1,200 images of the dwarf planet and its moons. The first image of Charon, released on Wednesday, revealed a large smooth region in the moon's southern hemisphere, which suggests it was once geologically active. 'Charon just blew our socks off when we had our new image today,' said Nasa's Cathy Olkin. The image also revealed a swath of cliffs and troughs stretches about 600 miles (1,000km) from left to right, suggesting a huge amount of fracturing of Charon's crust, likely a result of internal processes. Mission scientists were surprised by the apparent lack of craters on Charon, although yesterday's image appears to show more pockmarks than first thought. South of the moon's equator, at the bottom of this image, the terrain is lit by the slanting rays of the sun, creating shadows that make it easier to distinguish topography.  +20 The first ever high-resolution image of Pluto was beamed back to Earth on Wednesday showing water ice and 11,000ft (3,350 metre) mountains. The mountains likely formed n 100 million years ago - mere youngsters relative to the 4.56-billion-year age of the solar system +20 This image of an area on Pluto's moon Charon has a captivating feature -a depression with a peak in the middle, shown here in the upper left corner of the inset. The image shows an area 240 miles (390lm) from top to bottom, including few craters. 'The most intriguing feature is a large mountain sitting in a moat,' said Nasa researcher Jeff Moore. 'This is a feature that has geologists stunned and stumped' The first high-resolution image of Pluto was also sent by New Horizons on Wednesday revealing 11,000ft (3,350 metre) mountains made of ice. The remarkable image provided the first evidence that geological activity is still taking place on the icy world. Scientists were shocked to see mountains as high as those in the Rockies that likely formed 100 million years ago - mere youngsters relative to the 4.56-billion-year age of the solar system. Nasa says they may still be in the process of building. Like the rest of Pluto, this region would presumably have been pummeled by space debris for billions of years and would have once been heavily cratered - unless recent activity had given the region a facelift, erasing those pockmarks. 'We now have an isolated small planet that is showing activity after 4.5 billion years,' said Professor Stern during the unveiling. 'It's going to send a lot of geophysicists back to the drawing board.' This is the first time astronomers have seen a world that is mostly composed of ice that is not orbiting a planet. Unlike the icy moons of giant planets, the dwarf planet cannot be heated by the gravitational pull of a larger planetary body. Nasa says some other process must be generating the mountainous landscape. 'This may cause us to rethink what powers geological activity on many other icy worlds,' says GGI deputy team leader Dr John Spencer of the Southwest Research Institute. Dr Spencer said that the team has yet to find an impact crater in any of the scans, suggesting Pluto is very compared to the solar system. The count rate observed by New Horizons' Alice instrument   +20 The area seen here, from the bottom right part of the dwarf planet near its 'heart' is 150 miles across, and shows areas 1.5 mile across This animation shows how our view of Pluto has changed from its discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 through the 1990s and the latest images from Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 (CREDITNASA)  Wednesday's close-up image was taken about 1.5 hours before New Horizons closest approach, when the craft was 478,000 miles (770,000 km) from the surface of the planet. The team also announced that the 'heart' feature of the dwarf planet will now be known as the Tombaugh Regio, after Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto. Scientists have this week also revealed an image of Hydra, the outermost known natural satellite of Pluto. 'Surface of Hydra is surprisingly large, said Hal Weaver. 'Hydra's surface primarily composed of water ice.' The uncompressed version still resides in New Horizons' computer memory and is scheduled to be transmitted over the next 16 months.  The image of the dwarf planet, along with yesterday's images of the moons Charon and Hydra, are just the beginning. New Horizons is now around three million miles away from Pluto after making its closes flyby probe flew past the dwarf planet at 7:49 a.m. EDT (11:49 GMT) on Tuesday morning. It could be about to travel even farther into the unknown by becoming the first spacecraft to visit the icy blocks encircling our solar system in a ring of debris called the Kuiper Belt. These frozen lumps of ice and rock are thought to be some of the left over building blocks of the planets. Nasa scientists are hoping to send the New Horizons to one of two Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) which sit around a billion miles beyond Pluto. +20 +20 A sneak-peak image of Hydra (right) on Wednesday was the first to reveal its irregular shape and its size, estimated to be about 27 by 20 miles (43 by 33km). The surface shows differences in brightness, which suggests that Hydra's outer layer is composed of water ice (left) +20 Astronomers hope that New Horizons could become the first spacecraft to explore the Kuiper Belt, around four billion miles from the sun, and perhaps even continue out of the solar system itself into interstellar space, as shown in the graphic above +20 Spectra images show an abundance of methane ice on Pluto. But there are differences in the ice across the surface. 'We just learned that in the north polar cap, methane ice is diluted in a thick, transparent slab of nitrogen ice resulting in strong absorption of infrared light,' said New Horizons co-investigator Will Grundy WHAT IS THE KUIPER BELT? The Kuiper Belt is a freezing ring of debris orbiting more than 4 billion miles from the sun. It is thought to be the remains of the violent and chaotic collisions that led to the formation of the planets. There are an estimated 33,000 objects more than 60 metres across in the belt and three dwarf planets. Astronomer Mike Brown, from Caltech in Pasadena California, has likened the Kuiper belt to the 'blood splatter' left behind by the formation of the solar system. Although now relatively calm and stable, it is likely to be a dangerous place for New Horizons as it may be filled with unseen debris and space rocks. Depending on its fuel levels, the spacecraft would fly past either MT69, a 37 mile (60km) wide object or MT70, a 47 mile (76km) wide object, sometime between January and March 2019. Scientists are due to meet with Nasa officials to choose the best target to select before firing the engines of New Horizons in the autumn to set it on its new path. Originally the Hubble Space Telescope identified five objects in the Kuiper Belt that New Horizons could visit, but as their orbits have been observed that number has decreased. Professor Alan Stern, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission, said that the spacecraft may continue to explore the solar system for decades. New Horizons is powered by a nuclear power source which could last for another 20 years, allowing it to power its instruments and communications equipment. Speaking before the spacecraft's launch in 2006, Professor Stern described the probe as an 'almost timeless object' that would not only outlast the pyramids but also the mountain ranges of the Earth. He said the spacecraft itself would continue to glide out into the galaxy almost unchanged but it would only be possible to maintain contact with it while its power source lasted. Due to the painfully slow data link between Earth and the spacecraft, over a distance of nearly three billion miles, it will take New Horizons until 2016 before it has sent back everything it recorded. Speaking to Spacenews.com, Professor Stern said if a mission extension was granted by Nasa, it could lead to even more exciting discoveries. Find out what happens next for the New Horizons probe   +20 New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), center, has described the images as 'mind blowing'. Pictured is his reaction at seeing the new images from the spacecraft for the first time, earlier today THE DEMON WORLD: NAMES OF UNDERWORLD GODS PROPOSED FOR NEW FEATURES ON PLUTO +20 A list of unofficial names for new features appearing in the high resolution images of Pluto have been put forward including mythological creatures such as Mephistopheles As New Horizons begins to send back the first images of the Pluto system, there is a growing, and rather dark, list of names for the features scientists expect to see in them. Named after the Roman god of the underworld itself, the mysterious reddish coloured planet could have a series of craters, canyons, plains and chasms named after dark gods and demons from different cultures. Among those proposed are Ammit, the Egyptian goddess who devoured the souls of the sinful; Supay, the Inca's ruler of the underworld and Erlik, the underworld god in Mongolian mythology. A number of fictional monsters, such as the Balrog from JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Morgoth from the author's novel The Silmarillion have also been suggested. Although none of the names have been officially adopted, they have been put forward as part of a proposal submitted to the International Astronomical Union by scientists at the SETI Institute as part of a public campaign called Our Pluto. The names could transform the alien looking landscape of Pluto into a world filled with features that have emerged from the nightmares and deepest terrors of mankind. Among the proposed list of names names is Mephistopheles, the demon in German folklore who bartains for Faust's soul in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Peklenc, the god of the underworld in Slavic mythology and Xargi, the ruler of the underworld from Siberian mythology, are also among those put forward. Dr Jane Greaves, an astrophysicist at St Andrews University who has studied the atmosphere of Pluto, explained the theme may have been inspired by Pluto's distance from the sun. She said: 'The names in astronomical systems usually form a family, so here the theme is the Underworld, I guess because of the darkness out at Pluto's orbit. Pluto's moon Nix is from a creation goddess though, so more like dawn than darkness. Stern believe New Horizons could even begin to venture out of our solar system much like the Voyager space probe before it. 'If we get it, we've got to plan that flyby, navigate it, execute it, and then get that data,' he added. 'Then there's an interstellar mission like Voyager. We have [radioisotope thermo-electric] power on the spacecraft that lasts into the 2030s. 'New Horizons, I think, has a bright future. We could even get a second KBO flyby.' There is now a public campaign to push Nasa to into allocating the funds necessary to extend the New Horizons mission by writing to members of congress. Campaigners have calculated that it costs $0.15 per American per year for the New Horizons mission. Dr Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: 'New Horizons is now perfectly placed for further exploration of this mysterious realm and already there are plans to divert the probe towards at least one more of the large icy objects that orbit there. 'Pluto and its moons have already shown us just how varied and diverse these Kuiper Belt objects are, so I'm predicting that an extended New Horizons mission will reveal quite a few more surprises. 'But ultimately New Horizons is unstoppable and will speed on for decades until it leaves the solar system completely. ‹ SLIDE ME › This image was taken by New Horizons and sent back shortly before it started its final approach towards the dwarf planet yesterday. Slide left to see the main features on the icy world. More detailed images are expected to be released in the coming days Cheers erupt at ground control after successful Pluto flyby   +20 +20 Scientists reacted with joy and astonishment on Wednesday as they were shown an image of Pluto, taken shortly before it began its approach (left). Pictured on the right is a graphic illustrating the scale of Pluto (top centre) and Charon, compared with Earth A visit to the Kuiper Belt, however, will take the spacecraft and the scientists following it back here on Earth truly into the unknown. Little is understood about the mysterious dots of light that orbit out there. MT69 and MT70 orbit around four billion miles from the sun - 44 times further out than the Earth. Other than believing MT70 is larger than MT69 and also brighter, scientists know little else about these objects. Yet like it has already with Pluto, New Horizons could provide our first close up look at these icy places on the edge of our solar system and perhaps reveal new information about how our solar system formed. The mountains are probably composed of Pluto's water-ice 'bedrock.' Although methane and nitrogen ice covers much of the surface of Pluto, these materials are not strong enough to build the mountains. Instead, a stiffer material, most likely water-ice, created the peaks. 'At Pluto's temperatures, water-ice behaves more like rock,' said deputy GGI lead Professor Bill McKinnon of Washington University, St. Louis. During its closest approach, the spacecraft came to within 7,800 miles (12,500km) of Pluto's icy surface, travelling at 30,800 mph (49,600 km/h).  How similar are Pluto and Charon to the Earth and the Moon?   +20 After nine and a half years, the New Horizons spacecraft has lifted the veil on the icy world. Pictured are the probe's key instruments Elation for NASA as New Horizon mission approaches Pluto   'It's truly a mark in human history,' said John Grunsfeld, Nasa's associate administrator for science from the mission control center at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. 'Pluto didn't turn out to be a relatively featureless planet with a foggy nitrogen rich atmosphere as was expected. It has turned out to be a complex and interesting world. For the very first time we know that.' New Horizons entered silent mode on Monday night, shortly before beginning its final approach to allow it to devote its power and resources to taking images. Scientists faced a tense wait to hear if the spacecraft has survived its encounter unscathed. Speaking to DailyMail.com, Professor Alan Stern, the principal investigator for the New Horizons' mission, said the tense wait during the close encounter was the culmination of 15 years of work. He said: 'I mean, just look at the images. It's unlike anything. This is the most science fiction-looking world you'll ever see.'  Now that New Horizons has captured detailed images of Pluto, the inventory of major worlds in our solar system will be complete. As a column in the New York Times points out, none of us alive today will see a new planet up close for the first time again. This is, as Alan Stern, the leader of the New Horizons mission, says, 'the last picture show.' +20 Principal Investigator for New Horizons mission Alan Stern (left) and Co-Investigator Will Grundy (right) hold up an enlarged, out-dated U.S. postage stamp with the words 'Pluto not yet explored', during the celebration of the spacecraft New Horizons flyby of Pluto The big reveal! NASA unveils first ever close up of Pluto   +20 Initial images taken by New Horizons just over one million miles away on 11 July, (shown above) revealed cliffs and impact craters on the surface of Pluto. Scientists hope to get a closer look at these during the close encounter +20 Early pictures of Pluto's largest moon Charon have also allowed scientists to see enormous chasms and craters on the surface. A 200-mile wide dark region around the north pole has proved to be particularly baffling

The towns that time forgot

 

 

 

 

Entire Italian hamlet famed for being the birth place of pasta goes up for sale for £15.5 million Hamlet consisting of more than 50 properties - including homes and shops - is on the market in Norcia in Umbria The area has been declared a monument of historical and artistic interest by Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage Medieval mini-village is celebrated locally as the birthplace of pasta and is a haven for food and history lovers An entire Italian hamlet celebrated as the birthplace of pasta has gone on sale for £15.5 million. Consisting of more than 50 properties, the medieval mini-village close to the historical town of Norcia in Umbria is a haven for food lovers and has been declared a monument of historical and artistic interest by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Just a few miles from the world famous commune of San Pelligrino, the hamlet is known locally as 'Il Borgo', meaning simply The Village. Tucked away in the heart of the Umbrian countryside, the area's rich history, steadfast refusal to break with ancient traditions and internationally celebrated cuisine makes this 'home of pasta' an ideal spot for Italophiles to relax - provided they have more than a few 'pennes' in the bank. Scroll down for video +14 Stunning: Consisting of more than 50 properties, the medieval mini-village has long been a haven for food lovers +14 Historic: The hamlet has been declared a monument of historical and artistic interest by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage +14 Remote: Tucked away in the heart of the Umbrian countryside, the area has a rich history and refuses to break with ancient traditions +14 Under the arches: The hamlet is known locally as 'Il Borgo', which translates as simply The Village The hamlet is popular with foodies and sun-seekers and comes complete with a church, 59 independent apartments, a restaurant and several small shops. Annabel Smith, International Sales Manager at Jackson-Stops & Staff said: 'This is a unique opportunity for someone to own a piece of Italian history, which would make a lucrative tourist resort in what is one of Italy's most sought after regions. 'When you consider exactly what is on offer, it equates to outstanding value as for the same price as luxury London townhouse, the buyer is getting an entire hamlet with great income potential. 'Often these types of opportunities require extensive work but The Borgo has already been the subject of an extensive renovation programme meaning it is ready for immediate use.' +14 Cosy: The hamlet consists of 50 separate residential properties, with this one being a typical example of what to expect   Taking it easy: Umbria's internationally celebrated cuisine makes this 'home of pasta' an ideal spot for Italophiles to relax +14 Picturesque: The Borgo is just 100 miles from Rome and has been declared a monument of historical and artistic interest +14 Wonderful: The entire hamlet - with more than 50 properties - is roughly the same price as luxury London townhouse +14 Religious devotion: The hamlet is popular with foodies and sun-seekers and comes complete with a church The Borgo is just 100 miles from Rome and has been declared a monument of historical and artistic interest by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Umbria, known as 'Italy's green heart', is the only region that borders neither sea nor another country. The region is home to many of Italy's historic traditions such as pasta making and is a haven for foodies, as well as being home to great walks, festivals and art. Often overshadowed by its better known neighbour Tuscany, the entire province of Umbria has a total population of just over 885,000 spread out over its 3,265 square miles. To put that in perspective, more than 8.6 million people are crammed into the 607 square miles that makes up Greater London. The capital of Umbria is the city of Perugia - major city during the Etruscan period and still a significant university town. Take a tour around the historical town of Norcia in Umbria   +14 Annabel Smith, the woman overseeing the hamlet's sale said: 'This is a unique opportunity for someone to own a piece of Italian history' +14 +14 Great deal: Experts say the hamlet would make a lucrative tourist resort in what is one of Italy's most sought after regions +14 Miles of stunning countryside: The hamlet is just a few miles from the world famous commune of San Pelligrino +14 Uniqie: Umbria, known as 'Italy's green heart', is the only region that borders neither sea nor another country

The towns that time forgot       Haunting images of Italy’s abandoned ghost towns left in eerie splendour and untouched since they were deserted over half a century ago   Spooky images tell the story of Italy's forgotten villages that have stood deserted following devastating incidents Devastating earthquake in the once-bustling Apice saw 6,500 residents flee, leaving the old town to decay and ruin Heavy fighting during the Second World War forced the people of San Pietro Infine to flee. During 15 days of fighting villagers hid in caves. Few came back after the war Mudslides forced the people of Roscigno out in the 1950s - but the speed with which they left, with cutlery still on dinner tables, led it to be named 'The Twentieth Century Pompeii' Haunting photographs have captured the eerie beauty of Italy’s ‘ghost towns' from a bygone time - left abandoned by those fleeing conflict and natural disasters. A series of spooky pictures show how once thriving villages are the places time forgot and have stood untouched, decades after their inhabitants packed up and left. The old town of Apice, in the province of Benevento, was one such victim of Italy’s unforgiving geographical landscape when the whole town fled after a series of strong tremors, never to return. Scroll down for video +12 Spooky: A chapel in Croce abandoned and left to ruin. Untouched for decades, the isolated village by the Campania coast was deserted after the Second World War as its inhabitants gradually left to fine better lives in other parts of Italy and to the USA +12 Decay: The town of San Pietro Infine situated around 150km south of Rome, was badly bombed during the Second World War, wrecking its buildings. People living left after the Second World War +12 Historic: After the Battle of San Pietro Infine, which lasted 15 days and ruined many of the town's building many families, so frightened they hid in caves during the fighting, left and never returned +12 Boarded up: Throughout the ancient town of Apice there are signs of its former glory during the Roman times, when it was gifted to a squad of legionaries by a nobleman Marcus Apicius in return for their loyal service Located close to the southern town of Benevento, it was built during the glorious days of Imperial Rome. Strolling around its deserted streets today reveals some of the secrets of the town, which dates back to the eighth century. Ancient coins, statues of distinguished statesmen and remains of pottery are scattered everywhere in the commune, which – once a vibrant trading area until the 20th century – is now abandoned. The town received its name from a Roman nobleman and a popular gastronomer Marcus Gavius Apicius, author of the first Roman cookbook. He was commissioned by the Senate to give this estate as a gift to a squad of legionaries to reward them for their services and loyalty in battle against Romes enemies. The village is an open-air museum, a Roman city frozen in time. There are ruins of villas, taverns and bridges, while statues of lictor fasces and tombs litter the landscape. The fortress had underground prisons and a network of tunnels to safely exit the village. Thousands of people lived in Apice, 70km northeast of Naples, for centuries - but all the glory came to an end when two devastating earthquakes hit Apice in 1962, leaving 17 people dead. Those who did not die, escaped to a safer area. The government evacuated 6,500 people to a new town up the hill overlooking the old one.  +12 Deserted: After it was evacuated in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in 1962, only a handful of stoic residents remained in Apice including the mayor and the local barber. Many of those who left went to live in a newly created town up a hill, which overlooks the old one   Ancient: While San Pietro Infine gained fame as a safe haven for bandits fighting the unification of Italy, the town dates back further as fossils can be seen stuck on rocks throughout the commune in central Italy +12 Spooky: Abandoned buildings in the old town of Apice, which was the subject of a mass evacuation of 6,500 people in the 1960s because of a large earthquake. Most of its inhabitants never returned. The barber shop remained and only closed in 2012   A handful of committed residents - including the Mayor - hung on and refused to move, desperate to stay close to their home and the medieval ruins of the castles, churches and monasteries. But gradually people left, the last of which an old barber, who only shut his shop for the final time in 2012. The town of San Pietro Infine, situated around 150km south of Rome, was founded by the Sanniti people before they were brutally wiped out by the Romans, but fossils stuck in the rock hint to its prehistoric important, suggesting its cliff was part of a lake. Later sacked by the German Barbarians, after the fall of Rome it flourished as part of St.Benedict’s lands but San Pietro Infine gained notability in the 19th century, for being a popular stop-off for bandits hiding from the monarchy as they fought against the unification of Italy's states. The village was caught up in conflict again during the Second World War, where the famed Battle of San Pietro Infine took place in December 1943 between the Allied Forces and the German ‘winter line’. Heavy shelling and fighting for 15 days completely destroyed the town and drove frightened residents into caves to escape the conflict. After the conflict families left the area and never returned, and the remains of the town have been untouched ever since. Walking through Croce in 2015, it’s hard to guess it was once the home of a bustling slave market run by the Saracens where Asian women were sold to the highest bidder a thousand years ago. The pirates did a double trade as they stalked the Campania coastline, kidnapping fair skinned, blue eyed beauties and taking them to the Arabian Penisula where they too were sold into servitude. Fearful Italians had built the village along the rocky cliffs, believing it would be ‘impenetrable’ to the vicious pirates who plundered the lands. The Saracens were eventually ousted by the Italians, and Croce fell into the hands of the Papal State who transformed it into a ashram, attracting hermits and monks. But with the urbanisation of Italy, the lack of roads, schools, medical facilities or stops meant this once peaceful destination was too remote for its more modern inhabitants, and by the end of the Second World War its population dwindled as people sought a better life in other parts of Italy and the USA. Other 'ghost towns' in Italy include Roscigno, south of Naples, which is so-called the 20th Cenutry Pompeii after its population was driven out by a onslaught of floods and mudslides. Founded in the ninth century, the people of Roscigno were used to dealing with natural calamities - but for many, by 1902, it had all become too much as most people had already left. By the 1950s a few hardy souls remained - but they were eventually ordered out of their homes by the government in the 1950s. Yet the speed with which residents packed up and left have led to the village being dubbed the Pompeii of the 1900s. Visitors to Roscigno now can still find the cutlery and furniture which once belonged the the people who ran for their lives, laid out in the crumbling buildings. Those who do make the trip will find one lonely resident still determined to live in Roscigno today. +12 Maratea Vecchia where the villagers fled down to the coast, leaving Maratea Vecchia to crumble slowly into the sea +12 Roscigno, south of Naples, which is so-called the 20th Cenutry Pompeii after its population was driven out by a onslaught of floods and mudslides +12 Deserted: The village of Croce was once the home of a bustling slave market run by the Saracens where Asian women were sold to the highest bidder a thousand years ago +12 Mud slides have forced the villagers of Roscigno out of their homes and the village has been deserted since the 1950s The people of Scoppio, near Spoleto in Umbria, abandoned their village in 1950 after years of terrible earthquakes made life untenable, while it was the bombs of the Second World War that saw people flee the hamlet of Maratea Vecchia, built on the rugged San Biagio hilltop. In the town of Maratea Vecchia villagers fled down to the coast, leaving the village to crumble slowly into the sea Falling red rocks spelled the demise of Faleria Antica in the Tiber Valley, just a few kilometres away from Rome, as people moved downhill to escape the bombardment. The town was completely abandoned as massive migration in the 1940s took more people away from the area. Happily tourists have helped breath new life into the ghost towns of San Severino di Centol - an empty village now visited for an annual summer ham festival - and the 'Garden of Eden' Ninfa, which today is a luxuriant park with exotic plants, despite once flourishing as a trade centre for seven centuries.