Mysterious metallic sphere confused locals and authorities and generated several theories about its origin, from a Chinese spy device to a UFO.
The mystery surrounding the “Dragon Ball UFO”, a mysterious metallic sphere that washed up on a beach in Japan and whose origin intrigued the local inhabitants and the authorities, has generated a series of possible explanations: could it be a spy balloon? Some kind of advertising campaign? An alien object?
A mysterious metal ball spotted on a beach in the city of Hamamatsu this week prompted local police to dismantle the bomb squad. Careful examination revealed that it is not a threat, but sheds no light on what it really is. pic.twitter.com/ytClWsP0bw
— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) February 21, 2023
The answer is simpler. After several weeks of speculation, the truth has come out: it is (as previously thought likely) of a mooring buoy that broke loose and floated onto the beach.
“It’s just a normal buoy,” Uwe Send, an oceanographer at the University of California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, confirmed to the New York Times. These buoys are available for purchase online and can even be viewed on social media like Pinterest.
Send explained to the American newspaper that oceanographers use this type of buoy to carry out research. As a general rule, these objects are painted in bright colors, or even with a telephone number, and they usually carry some type of lighting flashlight so as not to get lost at sea. In Japan they are mainly used to moor ships, so they float on the surface and are made of metal.
The mooring buoy hypothesis had already been advanced as probable due to some of the visible features of the sphere. Specifically, its hollow interior, discovered by X-ray, as well as the existence of two metal handles on the object’s surface, indicated this strong possibility, a fact that did not prevent the most creative from theorizing that we could be facing a new surveillance device. linked to recent incidents involving Chinese espionage. “Maybe everyone is paranoid about balloons”devalued Send.
Buoy, UFO or spy balloon? Mysterious spherical object appears in Japan and confuses the authorities
Source: Observadora
