(Image source: The Namibian)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

Yet another scary object has fallen from the sky. This time it’s a metal ball that crash-landed in southern Africa. WCCO tells us about it.

“So, take a look at this photo of the ball from the National Forensic Science Institute. That is pretty weird, that shows up in your yard. Fourteen inches in diameter, weighed 13 pounds. Scientists discovered it was made of a metal alloy that is known to humans. The ball created a hole more than a foot deep and 10 feet wide when it landed.”

Officials examined the ball for more than a month before putting out the story. They determined the ball wasn’t explosive or radioactive, and that it’s hollow.

The Namibian explains how it was discovered.

“According to witnesses in the area, loud explosions were heard before the sphere was found by a farmer, who notified the police. ... Police officers found the sphere approximately 18 metres from the impact crater it had made when it landed on earth, and added that the surrounding area had been searched but no other similar objects were found.”

Now, officials are asking for help identifying the ball. They put out the call for NASA and the European Space Agency’s expertise. But while the agencies haven’t commented, the internet is here to help.

The Daily Mail lists a few possibilities.

“The find sparked speculation on the internet that it could finally be proof of extra terrestrial life, even though it bore a passing resemblance to the head of a character from the children’s series Teletubbies. Some claimed that it could be an escaped particle from the Large Hadron Collider, reindeer droppings or a Quaffle from the Harry Potter films.”

Of course, the real explanation is likely to be more mundane. There are thousands of pieces of space junk orbiting Earth, mostly leftovers from previous space missions or busted satellites.

A writer for Discovery News notes the Namibian space ball looks an awful lot like a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel, or COPV. They’re common features on satellites and have been found in Australia and Brazil. (Image source: NASA)

He writes:

“COPVs have a variety of space applications, but they all provide the same function -- they store gases under pressure in a space environment. What's more, to maintain the high pressure within the COPV, they are made of very tough material, often wrapped in carbon fiber or Kevlar. This is why COPVs can remain intact on reentry.”

If you’re looking for more exciting “things falling from the sky” news, you won’t have to wait long. Russia’s malfunctioning Mars probe is expected to fall to Earth next month.