Google Maps Street View captures fascinating images from around the world that online users can see from the seat of their chair.

Google Earth can see even more sites with many military areas often blurred out for fears for privacy and national security.

In the Gobi Desert in China, one image picked up from Google Earth has confused people. 

Thankfully, an expert has revealed his theory on the strange markings – which can be seen from space. 

Mysterious white lines were spotted in the desert on Google Maps.

The grid of lines can be seen in one picture taken by Google Earth; they look like long roads painted onto the ground.

Jonathan Hill, a research technician at the Mars Space Flight Facility in Arizona State University, thinks he has the answer.

With the grids being seen from space, it is thought that they are used to calibrate China’s spy satellites.

Hill explained to Space.com: “Satellite cameras focus on the grids, which measure approximately 0.65 miles wide by 1.15 miles long, and use them to orient themselves in space.

“The 65-foot-wide white lines […] have gaps in them where they cross little natural drainage channels and the lines themselves are not perfectly filled in, with lots of little streaks and uneven coverage.

"I think it's safe to say these are some kind of paint.

"I think we're seeing some sort of military zone/test range, which explains the large amount of equipment and technology in an otherwise remote area."

Some believe the Gobi Desert is used for military testing after structures have been spotted through the remote region.

It isn’t the first time some confusing images have been spotted on the ground by Google Earth.

A weird pattern emerged in Egypt, depicting a strange constellation on the ground.

Whilst many believe it to be aliens, it has since been unearthed as a man-made design.