Mysterious metal ball falls from space

[The One]

The hollow ball was found near a village about 480 miles from the capital Windhoek. Locals had heard several small explosions a few days beforehand.

A large metallic ball fell out of the sky on a remote grassland in Namibia. Baffled authorities have contacted NASA and the European space

Space junk?

Less than 3 weeks ago, a metal object dropped from the sky and smashed through the roof of a Massachusetts business. The metal object was obviously machine made, but the FAA confirmed that it didn’t come from any airplane — leading to speculation that it’s space junk.

The hollow ball that fell from the sky in Namibia has a circumference of 43 inches (1.1 metres). It was found near a village about 480 miles (750 kilometres) from the capital Windhoek [map], according to police forensics director Paul Ludik.

What intriguing about this case is the reports of locals having heard several small explosions a few days before finding the metal ball.

It was found 18 metres from its landing spot, a hole 33 centimeters deep and 3.8 meters wide. With a diameter of 14 inches (35 centimeters), the ball has a rough surface and appears to consist of two halves welded together, according to the article.

It weighed 13 pounds (six kilograms), and was made of a “metal alloy known to man,” the police forensics director Paul Ludik said — apparently seeking to dispel any rumors that the metal ball is of extraterrestrial origin.

The sphere was discovered mid-November, but authorities first did tests before announcing the find

http://www.datelinezero.com/2011/12/...ls-from-space/

[Paa]

Interesting, thanks for sharing. I'd say probably something from a satellite, since authorities first did tests and then decided to announce the find. It would most likely not have been announced if it was some type of alien craft.

reports of locals having heard several small explosions a few days before finding the metal ball.

This part is kind of strange though - wonder what could've caused that.

Some more reports of the incident:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...eculation.html
http://news.discovery.com/space/myst...mkcpgn=rssnws1
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/22...ls-in-namibia/
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/science...133326908.html

General location: http://maps.google.com/?q=Windhoek%2C+Namibia&z=4

[Ishtar]

Any one of these satellites could have dropped it.

[toad]

Posted by Ishtar (here)
Any one of these satellites could have dropped it.

Not to mention each time something goes up beyond the atmosphere and puts something into orbit it leaves behind a plethora of junk and random things. The booms could've been from it re-entering our atmosphere.

[Unified Serenity]

Posted by Ishtar (here)
Any one of these satellites could have dropped it.

That picture is great at putting things into perspective. I wonder just what the justification is each time they put a new satallite up there. What a trashy looking sky.

[Paa]

I guess this should explain it:

http://cs.astrium.eads.net/sp/spacec...lant-tank.html

http://fernlea.tripod.com/tank.html

It's a possibility that they replaced the original orb with a common object of similar shape before reporting it to the news (explosions remain unexplained). The original orb might have been something completely different - sadly, we will probably never know. At least the object on the picture is explained.

[Unified Serenity]

Great find!


104 Litre Hydrazine Propellant Tank

Attachment 12151

Posted by Paa (here)
My guess is this:

http://cs.astrium.eads.net/sp/spacec...lant-tank.html

http://fernlea.tripod.com/tank.html

[Wantsthetruth74]

Look out, the sky is falling. Gawd, that thing could cause some serious brain damage. lol

[Molly]

yaaay space litter! because trashing up the planet itself just isn't enough

[toad]

Posted by Unified Serenity (here)

Posted by Ishtar (here)
Any one of these satellites could have dropped it.

That picture is great at putting things into perspective. I wonder just what the justification is each time they put a new satallite up there. What a trashy looking sky.

Except it actually probably looks nothing like that, as satellites aren't nearly as big as rhode island. It will only get alot worse asfar as junk is concerned, and will perpetuate itself, as junk takes out satellites, and creates more junk, and that junk destroys things, and creates more junk etc... Someone will become a very rich man if they can find an economical way to harvest the junk in space.