Astrum Space - The Gateway to Hell Is Closing | Astrum Earth

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

The “Gateway to Hell” has been burning for 50 years, and it’s finally closing. Journey to the most hellish places on Earth. We're exploring our planet's terrifying "hell holes" - from a relentlessly burning crater, to a pit teeming with spiders, and a gigantic chasm that won't stop growing. Discover the dark forces behind these nightmare portals, find out how they mysteriously formed, and what truly lies lurking in the darkness below.▀▀▀▀▀▀Try Consensus, an AI search engine that turns millions of scientific papers into clear, evidence-based answers. It’s free to use, and with the code AstrumEarth45, you’ll get $45 off an annual Pro plan or 3 months free on a monthly plan. Visit: https://get.consensus.app/astrumearth45▀▀▀▀▀▀Astrum's newsletter has launched! Want to know what's happening in space? Sign up here: ⁠https://astrumspace.kit.com⁠A huge thanks to our Patreons who help make these videos possible. Sign-up here: ⁠https://bit.ly/4aiJZNF

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And then there are places that are downright hellish, like when you're standing at the edge of a gaping hole in the earth. Filled with flames licking the sky, foul gases choking the air. Dotted around our planet, these hell holes lurk like gateways into our darkest nightmares, offering humanity but the slightest glimpse of what may lie beyond. From thawing boils growing like hungry monsters in frozen tundras, to craters filled with spiders, to cauldrons burning in deserts for decades. Hellholes look like the layers of every demon we've ever dreamt up.

The perfect hiding place deep below us, home to something sinister. And yet, humans have this strange tendency to look at something like that and say, I really want to go down there and have a look around. I'm James Stewart and you're watching Astrom Earth. In this video, we plunge into the abyss, uncovering what hellholes are, why they exist, how they form, what chaotic roles they play in our world,

and most intriguingly, what bizarre life thrives in their depths. So what exactly is a hellhole? In geological and exploratory terms, Hellholes refer to massive deep craters, sinkholes or boreholes that have earned nicknames like gates of hell, doors to hell, or even well of hell, due to their dramatic otherworldly appearances. They're not a single type of formation, but rather a catchy label for extreme geological features that look like portals to the underworld. Think fiery pits, bottomless voids, or gas-spewing chasms that inspire fear, folklore and fascination. They appear sporadically on our planet, as if placed at random by a particularly angry being from another dimension, jealous of Earth's beauty.

But these aren't just random depressions sunken into the Earth. They're windows into Earth's violent history, and the ongoing changes our planet goes. through day in, day out, whilst we go about our ordinary mortal lives. Some are man-made mishaps. Others are natural wonders, amplified by climate shifts. Cavers even reached the bottom of one just a few years ago in 2021, finding something hiding deep underground no one could have expected. What unites them all is a sense of dread and mystery. These are places where the planet has cracked open, revealing secrets we'd rather keep buried. As we dig deeper, you'll see why explorers risk life and limb to peek inside and continue to do so to this day.

Our journey through the underworld begins in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert, where a 70-meter-wide, 30-meter-deep hole has been ablaze since 19. Despite desperate attempts to stop the flames, over half a century later, this hole is still on fire. What's more, rumours have circulated for decades that this particular hell hole is filled with some of the largest spiders in the wall. Ready to knock on the gates of hell? The Darvaza crater certainly lives up to its name. The word Darvaza translates from, from Turkmen to The Gate in English, and you can insert any suitably hellish adjective straight after it. It looks like the sort of place the devil himself might settle down to rest up after a long hard day of tormenting humans.

A gigantic sinkhole that has been burning methane gas for decades, spurting out flames at a thousand degrees, like an eternal fire pit 24-7, 365 days a year. The orange glow is visible from miles away, and the site has become one of the country's top tourist attractions, during around 10,000 visitors per year. It has been said it was intentionally set alight by Soviet authorities in the 70s. And the story goes, they'd hoped it would burn off in a matter of week.

However, nearly 50 years later, and despite Turkmenistan's former president announcing plans to close the gates of hell, it is very much alive and alight. But even stranger than that is that its true origins are still shrouded in mystery. Every Google search you do will tell you things began in 1971, when Soviet geologists were hunting for gas reserves deep in. the desert wilderness and struck gold, or gas in their case. So excited were they by their discovery that they began to drill, and in doing so managed to collapse a natural gas chamber, roughly 70 metres in diameter and 30 meters deep. To stop the poisonous gases escaping,

they elected to burn the evidence, hoping it would simply burn off after a few weeks. This part shouldn't really have come as a major surprise. The crater is situated on top of the Amu-Daya Basin, a place jam-packed with oil and natural gas reserves, stretching across not just Turkmenistan, but into Uzbekistan too. Turkmenistan has the fourth largest gas reserves in the world, plenty to keep the flames alive for some time. Vast quantities of natural gases and especially methane make their way through the Earth's crust, across the basin.

and when given the chance to escape, seize the opportunity with both hands. Satellite data suggests the crater pumps out anywhere between 1,000 to 3,000 kilograms of methane per hour, which is not just bad news for the planets, but life in general. Although not toxic, natural gas and methane displaces oxygen, making it very difficult to breathe. Not just for us, but for the animals that cool the Karakum Desert home. Shortly after the gas chamber collapsed, many animals roaming the area began to die off, and so the gates of hell came to be. A deadly combination of unstable geology from soft gas-filled sediments and human drilling

that punched through that sediment like a bad tattoo needle. All did it, because Turkmenistan still has no official record of the incident. One of the most alluring things about this crater is also one of the most frustrating. There really isn't much information out there about it, and for very good reason. Everything related to natural resources in the post-Cold War Soviet era was regarded as top secret, a matter of national importance during a time of heightened global tension. Simply put, whatever they had found, they were not about to share it with the world. especially not the Western world.

Ironically, some 30 years after the alleged incident, it was a Westerner that finally provided the world with some answers. Explorer and adventurer George Carunis became the first individual to descend into hell in 2013, to study what might lie within it for National Geographic. George was visiting Turkmenistan for the first time, and even when he was inside the country, still couldn't get verified information on what had caused the crater to open.

Indeed, contrary to the widely documented the Soviets set fire to it explanation, a new theory emerged. Karunis described speaking with two local Turkmen geologists, both of whom said the crater was actually formed in the 1960s and was gurgling away with gas and mud for quite some time, only catching fire in the 1980. But who or what ever had caused this crater to appear and then start burning would have to take a backseat for now, because it was time for George Carunas to take the steps to hell.

Imagine the feeling, being the first person to descend into quite literally one of planet Earth's most terrifying places, filled with toxic gases and flames that would tear through flesh in seconds. And most terrifyingly of all, filled with. with the unknown. He adorned his custom-made climbing harness, made out of Kevlar, a self-contained breathing apparatus similar to scuba gear, fire-resistant ropes and a particularly special heat-resistant suit. The equipment looked almost aluminium in colour, designed to reflect a lot of that radiant heat. George actually described feeling like a baked potato inside of it. But he was not deterred, and so began the most important part of his mission,

trying to find something, anything, that might live in these depths. As quickly and as efficiently as he could, he set about scooping up soil samples from the bottom of the crater, eventually turning around to make the ascent back to Earth. The hellish crater did all it could to keep him trapped inside, as he briefly passed out from the heat on the way back to the crater rim. Finally, after coming around, he managed to scramble back up, completing his most deadly of missions. The soil samples were given to Dr. Stefan Green, the microbiologists on the expedition.

And they showed something even the most optimistic scientists couldn't have dreamt up. Life. Yes, something lives in that hell. But it wasn't the spiders so many feared. It was something even more unexpected. In Darvazza's fiery depths, George Carunis found bacteria thriving at a thousand degrees amid toxic gases. Microbes that metabolize methane,

heat-loving bugs that turn the crater into a natural bioreactor. Extremophiles don't just survive down there. They thrive. We have a video about Earth's deep bioreactor. which details exactly how this is possible if you want more on that, by the way. So what of the creepy spiders that were meant to be lurking at the bottom then? Over the years, local legends have whispered of native camel spiders, some measuring up to 15 centimeters in length, flocking toward the blazing hole.

The stories go that the spiders are attracted to the flickering light amidst the dark desert landscape, following the insects drawn to the light, quite literally like a moth to a flame. The story takes a dark turn, however, as many spiders seem to find the allure of the bright burning lights too strong and topple over the edge, meeting their fiery demise inside the crater. So the crater may well be full of camel spiders,

but they're certainly not alive anymore. That's it then, right? Humans have been to hell and returned to tell the tale, One of a spidery graveyard filled with bacterial life that is endlessly, and some might say needlessly, burning methane constantly into the atmosphere and that'll just be the case forever and ever and case closed. Well, not quite, because it seems like the flames inside the gates of hell are finally beginning to extinguish. Sorry to bring you back down, up to Earth, if you found yourself growing attached to this strangest of places, because its end may well be in. sight. It felt almost inevitable in a more climate-conscious world, and there have been many largely empty threats from Turkmen government officials to act on it, but as it turns out,

nature may well have beaten them to it. Researchers from Turkmen gas, the country's state-run gas company, revealed the flames have visibly weakened as recently as June 5th 2025. Turkmengas scientists presented new data showing a significant decline in the crater's methane fuel blaze at a recent conference. According to Irina Lareva, director of the state-owned energy company, the flames have actually reduced three-fold in size. She also revealed that the company had drilled specific containment wells around the crater to capture the methane before it escaped into the atmosphere. She summarised her speech by saying,

Before, a huge glow was visible from several kilometres away. But today, only a faint source of combustion remains. The sense is this is welcome news amongst the citizens and leaders of Turkmenistan. The burning crater has long been a topic of discussion, with many people stating the continuous burning of precious natural gases is simultaneously wasteful, and dangerous. And so, the gates of hell seems like it may have finally met its demise. Unquestionably, one of the most extraordinary sights on planet Earth, a true gateway to something otherworldly. What will remain of the site once its embers finally die down for the last time?

Well, no one really knows, but one thing is for sure, like the animals buried inside of it, the hidden secrets of the Darvaza crater look set to die with it. Whilst that journey may end there for now, ours certainly doesn't, and we move from the gates of hell to the equally unsavory gate to the underworld, because deep in the Siberian tundra lies something utterly diabolical. Every story we tell about our planet grows from a single seed of curiosity. But behind every awe, or for inspiring discovery, lies an entire forest of scientific research waiting to be unearthed.

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Plus taxes and government fees. GoogleFi Wireless is not subject to data traffic deprioritization during times of high network usage. This hellhole did its very best to remain hidden on planet Earth for as long as it possibly could. It was first captured by a classified surveillance satellite in the mid-1960s, but wasn't officially recognized as a significant geological structure until the first. 1990s. So what was it they were hiding for three decades? At the time, you might say nothing substantial. But now, this monstrosity has gone from a small, barely insignificant gully to a massive tadpole-shaped depression that covers more than 800,000 square meters, stretches one kilometre in length, and is

50 metres deep, and keeps growing. Between 1990, and 2018, the area has increased almost threefold. It can hide no longer. Not least because aside from being huge, it's also incredibly loud. Julian Merton, a geologist at the University of Sussex in England, who's visited and studied the site as part of his research, describes the scene during the summertime as the frost thaws once again. The sound of water pouring over the cliff sides,

is interrupted every so often by the boom and crash of falling Earth. So intense is the noise that many Yacushan people are said to be scared to approach the crater. A deeply spiritual people, they believe in the upper, middle and underworlds and see this deep frozen abyss as a doorway to the latter. Does that explain why this structure was kept a secret for so long? Is this the manifestation of the underworld on planet Earth? Well, that may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. The Batagika crater isn't actually a crater at all.

The word crater has connotations of something meteorological or even extraterrestrial, but this is neither. What it is is a slow-motion landslide, or to give it its proper title, a retrogram. progressive Thor slump. It's a large one at that, the largest in the world. A gigantic oddity that looks more horseshoe crab than crater, about a kilometre long and 800 metres wide and growing like a hungry monster, exposing layers of earth frozen for tens of thousands of years. Astonishingly, permafrost found at the bottom of the crater dated back at least 650,000

years. But how did it get there? Who opened up the path to the underworld? Well here's the really scary part. Weed. You see, this vast expanse was first started off by pesky humans, clearing vast arrays of forest in the area for mining and mineral exploration. This meant, of course, lots of driving around in large off-road monster trucks across a very delicate tundra, which led to the inevitable. Trees acts like a thick, cozy blanket, protecting land from soil erosion, but the miners cut them down.

Without any vegetation to protect the ground, the sun had a direct path to the permafrost, gradually mounting it away year after year, and rather ironically, permanently altering the thermal equilibrium of the entire area. So yes, the subsurface world has indeed, being exposed, or made manifest, if you like. And it's a double negative.

As the exposed permafrost melts away, the soil contained in it also suffers. The soil begins to soften into mud and then collapses in on itself and is swept away in the river along with the melting ice, and so a mega slump is formed. And mega really is the operative word here, because this is happening fast. very fast. According to a 2024 article in geomorphology, between 1991 and 2018, the crater has retreated on average 11.3 to 14.9 metres per year, and in some instances, as much as 30 metres. The permafrost, at times throughout its history, would have been between 200 and 500 metres thick,

made up of layers built up at intervals over hundreds of thousands of years, doing what soil does, sequestering carbon. And as we know, it's pretty good at it too. Around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere's soil area is underlain by permafrost. And the northern permafrost region holds up to 1,600 billion metric tonnes of organic carbon, twice as much as is currently in the atmosphere. But what happens when permafrost starts to slump away? Yep, that carbon goes with it.

As well as losing a huge amount of mass, the gateway to the underworld has also released around 169,500 tonnes of organic carbon. That's about 5,000 tonnes each year. So, why is it our fault? Because we decided to get rid of all those wonderful trees. As a result of our changing climate, this part of the world has been especially, impacted. The rate of Arctic warming is nearly four times the global average, and this small

gully, carved out by humans at some point in the 60s, was always set on a collision course to become one of the most conspicuous global warming on planet's Earth. This slumping is more rapid than any similar geological event in Siberia in the last 10,000 years. In total, the Batagay a crater has lost 34.6 million cubic metres of material, including ground ice and thawed soil, a man-made scar etched onto planet Earth permanently. Unlike the Darvaza crater, this one isn't showing any signs of slowing down either. The underlying mechanisms responsible for its growth are not going to dissipate, fuel by an unrelenting global rise in temperature and the extreme Arctic amplification.

But hold on, because it's not all bad. There is a glimmer of hope, a silver lining to opening up the underworld. We get to see inside of it. As this geological monstrosity continues to self-excavate, it's revealed something quite remarkable inside. Unintentionally, the Batagade crater has become a 650,000-year-old time capsule, offering an unprecedented look into Earth's past. By revealing some of the most ancient permafrost on the planet,

we've had a glimpse not only into past climates, but also some of the most perfectly preserved remains ever found. In 2024, weighing in it over 100 kilos, Russian scientists found the remains of a perfectly preserved 50,000-year-old baby woolly mammoth in the world. the permafrost. Heartbreakingly, Jana, as she was named, was only one year old when she died. In 2018, scientists found the remains of an extinct baby Lena horse with well-preserved skin,

hair, tail and hooves that died 42,000 years ago. That specimen yielded the oldest sample of liquid blood ever found. They've also recovered the bones of a cave lion, the skulls. of a Pleistocene wolf and plenty of bones, teeth and tusks from other large woolly mammoths. By peering through the curtain to the underworld, we've had unique access to ancient permafrost, and for all its negatives, of which there are many, it's presented scientists with enormous potential when it comes to studying past climate permafrost interactions since the middle Pleistocene. At some point in the future, the crater that isn't a crater, will likely run out of permafrostean,

a frost to eat away, finally hitting the bedrock that could halt its growth. Until then, the underworld remains alive and well. So we've dipped into the underworld and smashed through the gates of hell. So it seems only right in a video about hellholes that we actually go into one. Welcome to the well of hell. This has got to be good with a name like that, right? right? Don't worry, it does not disappoint. Lying in the middle of the vast desert floor of Yemen's eastern province of Almaha, there is a dark blip on the landscape.

Close to the border with Amman appears a giant hole poked by Satan himself into the desert. A strange, perfectly spherical jet black hole in contrast with the stark orange dunes that go on for miles. Measuring 30 metres across, Yemen officials had no idea what lurked at the bottom of the foreboding well of Bar-Hut, or as it's known locally, the well of hell. Scientists were clueless as to how long it had been there, how it even got there, and what it actually was. Wispers spoke of it being a prison for Jin, supernatural beings in Arabic mythology, banished to Earth's murky depths for their sins.

Other locals won't venture within miles of it for fear of being struck with some unseen curse. Some even think if you get too close, you'll be pulled inside and forced to spend eternity down there in this forbidden realm. Those that did dare to get close have spoken of foul odours coming from below, fueling the fans of mystery and rumour. What's really inside this giant cavity? Many have tried and failed to gain answers.

Amateur explorers had attempted to climb, but no one ever reached the bottom. That is until September the 15th, 2021, when a team of 10 brave explorers attempted something no one had been able to do before, a full descent into the well of hell. led by geologist Dr. Mohamed Al-Kindi and the Amman Cave Exploration Team, eight members were lowered to the bottom using a pulley system, whilst two remained at the top.

Descending 112 metres down, they eventually hit jagged uneven ground, covered in stalin mites, some of which reached nine metres tall. There nestled amongst them was the real treasure, however. Cave pearls. Perfectly crafted. spherical calcium deposits, shaped across millennia by water dripping into the hole in stunning majestic colorations. The wonder didn't stop there, though. They discovered water emerging from

several holes in the cave walls at around 65 metres below the surface, creating small waterfalls supported by vibrant green algae. They found snakes, frogs, beetles, lizards and even dead birds, which had likely fallen into the well, explaining some of the interesting smells the locals were experiencing. Bats roosted in crevices and the low-oxygen acidic environment hosted extremophiles. So what then is this place? Fortunately, science has an answer. The well of Barhout is actually just a pretty normal cast sinkhole, likely millions of years old. There are different types of sinkholes with the most common being collapse and subsidence sinkholes. Collapse sinkholes form when voids in the bedrock below the

surface expands so much that the roof above is no longer supported and everything above simply collapses into the cave. Subsidance sinkholes occur when surface sediments slowly trickle down into small gaps below the ground until a sinkhole eventually forms. Both rely on a special type of landscape known as cast, characterized by carbonate bedrock like limestone and dolomite, which is soluble in water and leads to caves, springs and sinkholes. Spending around six hours in the cave, the team were able to have a pretty good look around.

What there wasn't was any evidence of anyone or indeed anything human-like having ever been down there before. the landscape of the cave was amazingly pristine and entirely natural. Discovering these holes, and we've shown you every centimeter we could in this video, did you find yourself wishing there would be evidence of something untoward, something amazing but scary, something extraterrestrial or even metaphysical in this hellish journey? Those hellholes seem so extreme and out of place amidst earth's beautiful landscape that surely something had to put them there. Well, it turns out that not always, but more often than not, it was us. Apparently, humans are often the real amazing and scary

culprit when it comes to unlocking things on Earth that feel otherworldly or underworldly. But for our interference and the way we've caused our planet to change, these secrets would have otherwise never come to light. Which begs the question, What other secrets might we accidentally uncover in the future? And which ones will continue to remain a mystery? Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theatre stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th,

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