For three quarters of a century, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart has been part of American lore. Now, new evidence is springing up that may conclusively pinpoint where she spent her final days.

Sonar imaging has uncovered an anomaly off the Pacific island of Nikumaroro, and many are hopeful that it will be Earhart's long-lost plane. In the image, a long 22-foot object can be seen protruding from the sloping underwater terrain just off the coast of the island.

"It looks unlike anything else in the sonar data, it's the right size, it's the right shape, and it's in the right place," The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), the organization behind the search writes on their website.

Despite that optimism, officials with TIGHAR are still uncertain as to what the object actually is. They are very hopeful that it will end up being a part of Earhart's famous voyage, but as of right now they cannot even determine what the anomaly is, much less whether it had anything to do with Earhart.

"The resolution on the sonar does not suffice to conclusively determine what this is," Jeff Glickman, the forensic imaging specialist for TIGHAR, said in a phone interview. "It is unique, and suggestive of being man made. It is in the right place, but whether it's a fuselage or a wing is difficult to say."

TIGHAR first conducted a search of this island (which is roughly 800 miles southwest of Hawaii) last year, and had already released images that they claimed were indicative of a field of man-made debris, thus making the case that Earhart's plane was in the vicinity. The expedition in total was not cheap, costing around $2.2 million.

Even if this anomaly on the sonar is in fact Amelia Earhart's plane, the problems have only begun for the researchers. Being able to actually move the plane without it breaking is vital, and is a problem they are not entirely sure how to address.

"Let's say we get back out there and we get down to 600-feet with a remote operated vehicle and we send a vehicle out there with cameras and, son of a gun, that's really the wreckage... then what? We certainly want to recover it but recovering aircraft aluminum is really dicey because the aluminum becomes unstable," explains Ric Gillespie, TIGHAR's executive director.

Salt water is very corrosive to aluminum, and it is likely that as soon as any attempt to move the plane is made, the structure will immediately start to crumble. The researchers are already considering alternatives for the aircraft's recovery, though they are still uncertain as to what the most viable method would be.

Amelia Earhart first made her ill-fated voyage on Jul. 2, 1937, after she lifted off with co-pilot Fred Noonan from Papua, New Guinea. Their destination was Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific, as they were completing the tail end of a cirumnavigational flight around the world. Radio towers lost contact with them soon after take-off, and their disappearance has been the stuff of legend ever since.