‘Alien’ space ball drops into Namibian grassland; NASA alerted (VIDEO)

Namibian officials have alerted NASA and the European Space Agency after a strange metal ball reportedly fell out of the sky into remote grassland in Namibia.

The hollow ball, which appears to consist of two metal plates welded together, was found near a village about 470 miles north of the Namibian capital, Windhoek, in November, Agence France-Presse reported, quoting police forensics director Paul Ludik. 

The ball, with a circumference of 3' 6" and weighing 13 pounds, left a crater 13 inches deep and 12.5 feet across, according to AFP.

Ludik also described the object as being made of a "metal alloy known to man."

Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions a few days before the ball was found.

However, local 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 reportedly said.

Perhaps stranger, several such balls have reportedly dropped over the past 20 years — in southern Africa, Australia and Latin America.

However, according to Discovery News, nobody needs to call in Scully and Muller just yet. 

"Exhibit A looks like a dusty 'Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel' (or COPV for short) and although it did drop from orbit, it's simply an exotic-looking chunk of space junk," writes Ian O'Neill.

"COPVs have a variety of space applications, but they all provide the same function — they store gases under pressure in a space environment."

According to O'Neill, COPVs are made of very tough material, often wrapped in carbon fiber or Kevlar, to maintain the high pressure, explaining why they remain intact on reentry.

O'Neill noted that he'd written before on the discovery of a COPV in Brazilian farmland which also "ignited awe and mystery."

And:

Right around the same time, a farmer from Australia went public on his 2007 find — another bashed-up COPV in the Aussie Outback.

Earlier this year, the severe Texas drought revealed space debris at the bottom of a lake — a fuel tank from Space Shuttle Columbia. The shuttle broke up on reentry in 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board. Debris from the disaster rained down on the state, including the shuttle's COPVs.