Mysterious Giant Cylinder found washed up on an Australian beach
A mysterious giant metal cylinder washed up on a beach in Western Australia and police urged beachgoers to stay away from the potentially "hazardous" object.
According to a report by the Independent, the unidentified object was reported to police by residents near Green Head town on the Mid-West coast on Sunday afternoon. The Western Australian police are trying to determine if the object's origin and nature are "hazardous".
The police do not believe that the object originated from a commercial aircraft and urged people to refrain from drawing conclusions as many people linked it to UFOs and others linked it to a missing Malaysian MH370 flight.
"The investigation is ongoing, and until further information is available, we urge everyone to refrain from drawing conclusions," Western Australia Police said in a statement.
"In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, officers from the Western Australia Police Force are currently guarding the object," the police added.
The pictures and videos on social media show a copper-coloured object in a damaged state. It appears the object has been detached from something and its bottom half appears like it was ripped from its origin.
An Australian Space Agency spokesperson said that they were investigating the object. "The agency is working to confirm whether the object could be part of a foreign space launch vehicle that has washed up on shore, and liaising with global counterparts who may be able to provide information about the object," the spokesperson said.
"As the origin of the object is unknown, the community should avoid handling or attempting to move the object," he added.
Space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman told The Guardian said the object is a fuel cylinder which has come from the third stage of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket or Chandrayaan-3. "It's surprising because it's such a large fragment. And it makes you wonder what was going on at the time if maybe a marine weather event dislodged it and brought it ashore," she said.
"It is very interesting though, and is a way regular everyday people can get close to space, as often these things turn into souvenirs. People like to keep some space junk," the expert added.
The Australian space agency said it was possible the giant cylinder could have fallen from a "foreign space launch vehicle" and it would liaise with other international agencies.
Social media users made several speculations that the cylinder may have been debris from India's PSLV rocket.
A user wrote on Reddit, "This is the third stage of India's PSLV rocket."
Another user commented, "The Indians landing their debris in the Indian Ocean like they own it good on them for their success and welcome to the big show."
"Oh look, an unidentified object on a beach! Quick, let's jump to conclusions and assume it's from an alien space launch instead of, you know, checking if it belongs to one of our messy neighbours," the third user wrote.