Anyone familiar with Mel Brooks has heard of Spaceballs, the 1987 Star Wars spoof. Well, for over 20 years, the comedy-loving public has always thought that spaceballs were imaginary, that is until now.
While it may not be part of massive SpaceBall 1, the fictional mother ship used by the film's title villains, a large ball just over 3 feet in circumference dis drop out of the clear blue sky in Namibia, an African country. In physical terms, the ball is made of a metal alloy (one that is man-made, by the way), is hollow, and weighs about 13 pounds. After examining the mysterious object for over a month, local officials are now calling on NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to try and figure out just what the mysterious spaceball really is.
So far, neither NASA nor the ESA has made any comments on what they think the object is. However, in past years, similar objects that fell from the sky were found to be high-pressure containers for gasses.
So, while it is definitely not part of an alien spaceship (the alloy is man-made), the story is nevertheless a curiosity for those of us in the western world and, quite a sensation for the locals in Namibia, and further proof for cosmic environmentalists that space junk is a real problem that needs to be addressed by the space-faring nations of the Earth.
Like this?
Hit the 'subscribe' button for automatic email updates when I write something new!
Want to read more of my stuff? Check out my other Examiner columns!
Photography Examiner
Cleveland Astronomy Examiner
Cleveland Photography Examiner
Space News
ESA gives up on Phobos-Grunt
Most Earth-like planet yet
Get psyched for upcoming eclipse
Saturday's eclipse, what you can see
Why tomorrow's eclipse is 'impossible'
Want even more? Check out my personal website:
Bodzash Photography and Astronomy
Comments