27 Haunting Photos of the Wreck of the Titanic When It Was First Discovered in 1985

Titanic, the world's best-known cruise ship was launched in May 1911, the ship sank in April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg en route from Southampton, England to New York City. Titanic was carrying more than 2,200 passengers and more than 1,500 reportedly died.

When the Titanic sank in 1912, the famous ship wasn’t exactly sailing in obscurity. Yet it took decades before the wreckage was discovered. It wasn't until September 1, 1985 that scientists, after years and years of searching, found what they were looking for.

Today, the Titanic rests, disintegrating at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 12,405 feet below the water’s surface. Take a look at some of amazing underwater images of the ship.

A view of the bow and railing of the RMS Titanic.

Two of Titanic's engines lie exposed in a gaping cross section of the stern. Draped in "rusticles"—orange stalactites created by iron-eating bacteria—these massive structures, four stories tall, once powered the largest moving man-made object on Earth.

A view of the bow of the RMS Titanic.

A view of the bow of the Titanic from a camera mounted on the outside of the Mir I submersible.

A view of the steering motor on the bridge of the Titanic.

A view of the bathtub in Capt. Smiths bathroom. Rusticles are observed growing over most of the pipes and fixtures in the room.

With her rudder cleaving the sand and two propeller blades peeking from the murk, Titanic's mangled stern rests on the abyssal plain, 1,970 feet south of the more photographed bow. This optical mosaic combines 300 high-resolution images taken on a 2010 expedition.

Detached rusticles below port side anchor indicating that the rusticles pass through a cycle of growth, maturation and then fall away. This particular "crop" probably was in a five to ten year cycle.

Rusticle hanging from the stern section of the RMS Titanic showing secondary growths during maturation.

Rusticles growing down from the stern section of Titanic.

China dishes are part of the debris left from the wreck of the Titanic, as she lies on the Atlantic Ocean floor south of Newfoundland.

The prow of the HMS Titanic.

This photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows a pair of shoes, lying in close proximity, are, while the visible remains of the victim have disappeared, suggestive evidence of where a victim of the Titanic disaster came to rest.

This photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows The remains of a coat and boots, articulated in the mud on the sea bed near Titanic's stern, are suggestive evidence of where a victim of the disaster came to rest.

This photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows The remains of a coat and boots, articulated in the mud on the sea bed near Titanic's stern, are suggestive evidence of where a victim of the disaster came to rest.

An officer's cabin window on the Titanic's boat deck starboard side.

Starboard wing propeller from Titanic shipwreck.

The low pressure cylinder head of the port steam engine of the shipwrecked Titanic.

Cooking pots from Titanic shipwreck.

An electric meter for the electric light from the compass of the Titanic was recovered from the shipwreck.

The stoking ports of a boiler in the debris field of the shipwrecked Titanic.

The insides of a power turbine of the Titanic lie on the Atlantic Ocean floor south of Newfoundland.

The prow of the HMS Titanic, as she lies on the Atlantic Ocean floor south of Newfoundland.

An intact glass pane from the window of Captain Edward J. Smith's cabin hangs open on the Titanic.

A ceramic bowl and other debris from the Titanic litter the floor of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland.

A hull fragment from the Titanic lies on the ocean floor.

An opening on the starboard side of the ship's hull could be damage from the Titanic's collision with an iceberg on April 14, 1912. About 1,500 people died when the ship sank, breaking in two.