ESA Astronaut Image: Easter Island

On Easter Sunday in 1722, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen became the first known European to encounter this Polynesian island and gave it the name it has become most widely known by.

Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui in the native language) is one of the most isolated spots on Earth, lying some 2,000 miles from the nearest areas of human habitation (Tahiti and Chile) — even more remote than the astronauts orbiting at 210 nautical miles above the Earth.

The island, which is only 15 miles long, was annexed by Chile in 1888. (In Spanish, it is called "Isla de Pascua," which means "Easter Island.")

Archaeological evidence suggests that Polynesians from other Pacific Islands discovered and colonized Easter Island around the year 400.