Unidentified Metal Spheres Fall From Sky in China

One of eight objects that fell from the sky in northeastern China May 16 and 17, 2014. (Network Screenshot)

Metal objects in the form of spheres surrounded by jagged-edged crowns fell from the sky in northeastern China on Friday and Saturday.

Altogether, eight of these unidentified objects fell in the city of Qiqihar. State-run media outlets reported that one of the balls was a little over 2 feet in diameter and weighed about 90 pounds. Locals saw the fiery balls falling.

Some have speculated they are nitrogen boosters from aircraft, citing residual nitrogen gas found in one of the balls. Many online discussions included talk of alien spacecraft.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that a carrier rocket malfunctioned and burned up over China on Friday, but that no debris could have reached Earth.

The head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (commonly called Roscosmos), Oleg Ostapenko, told RIA Novosti: “Reports have been confirmed that the carrier rocket, the booster and the satellite completely burned up in the atmosphere. This happened over Chinese territory. Taking into consideration the altitude of the orbit, we can definitely say that nothing reached Earth.”