- A mystery dome-like object recently washed up on a remote beach in Australia.
- Police and officials are trying to figure out what the strange gold-colored cylinder is.
A mysterious giant, dome-like object washed up on a remote beach in Australia, perplexing locals, officials, and police as they try to figure out what the strange gold-colored cylinder is.
Officers from the Western Australia Police Force have been guarding the object, and the department has asked people to stay away from it until it is removed from the beach.
The large, apparent-metal object showed up on a beach near Western Australia's Green Head and was reported to police on Sunday, according to authorities.
The Western Australia Police Force said in a statement that it has launched a joint investigation into the matter.
"We want to reassure the community that we are actively engaged in a collaborative effort with various State and Federal agencies to determine the object's origin and nature," the police force said.
Meanwhile, the Australian Space Agency said in a tweet that the object may be from fallen space debris from a foreign rocket.
—Australian Space Agency (@AusSpaceAgency) July 17, 2023
"We are currently making enquiries related to this object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia," the space agency tweeted. "The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are liaising with global counterparts who may be able to provide more information."
The space agency also warned that "the community should avoid handling or attempting to move the object," since its origin remains unclear.
Police said they don't believe the object came from a commercial aircraft.
Authorities initially said the object was being treated as "hazardous," but said that an analysis by the Department of Fire and Emergency Service and Chemistry Centre of Western Australia determined the object to be safe and not a risk to the public.
"Recovery and safe movement of the item will be coordinated following formal identification of the item and its origin," the Western Australia Police Force said in a Facebook post.
Local resident Garth Griffiths told Australia's ABC News that his neighbor told him Sunday about the mystery object, which he estimated to be up to 10 feet long and eight feet wide.
"Sometime yesterday, a local lady and her partner discovered it just floating on the edge of the water and dragged it out with their four-wheel drive," Griffiths told the news outlet.
He added that curious children started digging sand castles around the debris.
Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas told the BBC that the object could be a fuel tank from a rocket that had plunged into the Indian Ocean at some point in the last year.