News Corners

A large metallic space ball fell out of the sky on a remote grassland in Namibia, prompting authorities to contact Nasa and the European space agency.

With a diameter of 14 inches, the ball has a rough surface and appears to consist of ‘two halves welded together’ Photo: AFP/GETTY

---

The hollow ball, which has a circumference of 43 inches, was found near a village in the north of Namibia some 480 miles from the capital Windhoek, according to police forensics director Paul Ludik.

Locals had heard several small explosions a few days beforehand, he said.

With a diameter of 14 inches, the ball has a rough surface and appears to consist of “two halves welded together”.

It was made of a “metal alloy known to man” and weighed 13 pounds, said Ludik.

It was found 59ft from its landing spot, a hole one foot deep and 12ft wide.

Several such balls have reportedly dropped in southern Africa, Australia and Latin America in the past twenty years.

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

Police deputy inspector general Vilho Hifindaka concluded the sphere did not pose any danger.

“It is not an explosive device, but rather hollow, but we had to investigate all this first,” he said.