A Mysterious strange metal ball dropped out of the sky and slammed into the remote grassland of northern Namibia few days ago.
The 14-inch-wide (35-centimeter) metallic sphere hit the ground about 480 miles (750 kilometers) north of Windhoek, the African country's capital. It left a crater 13 inches (33 cm) deep and 12.5 feet (3.8 meters) across, theAgence-France Presse (AFP) reported Thursday.
The metal "space ball" weighs 13 pounds (6 kilograms). It has a rough surface and appears to consist of two halves that were welded together, according to AFP.
The mystery sphere was discovered in mid-November, but local authorities held off on announcing the find until they could perform a few tests. They determined it poses no danger to the public.
Similar spheres have also been found in Australia and Central America over the last two decades, local authorities said.
Quite a bit of space junk has rained from the sky this year. In September, for example, NASA's defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) — a 6.5-ton craft that monitored climate from 1991 until 2005 — plunged into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
Just a month later, Germany's 2.7-ton Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) fell to Earth over the Indian Ocean.
Yet more bigger 14.5 ton spacecraft of Russia will plummet to Earth soon The Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe got stuck in Earth orbit shortly after its launch on 8 November this year, and it's been circling lower and lower, which may crash down on earth in mid-January.
