Residents of the coastal town of Green Head, in western Australia, woke up on Saturday to a large, unidentified metal object lying on the sand on the beach.

Quickly, the Australian Space Agency traveled to the place advising the population to avoid coming into contact with the object and not to move it because “the origin is unknown.”

The police have launched an investigation to try to find out where it came from and what it is about, while the Australian Space Agency is working with other agencies to resolve the issue.

So far, “the object is most likely a solid rocket motor casing,” but was initially believed to be “a foreign space launch vehicle,” the Australian Space Agency said on its Twitter account.

The massive object, which appears to have been man-made, is in appalling condition: damaged at one end and covered in barnacles, having been in the sea for a long time.

As for its size, “taller than a human”, it measures approximately 2.5 meters wide and almost three meters long.

Internet users' theories

Internet users have given free rein to the imagination and some theories about the mysterious object are already circulating. The most commented, that the metal has fallen from space and comes from a plane.

Another theory, in line with its origin in space, is that the object was part of the Boeing 777 that disappeared nine years ago during the MH370 flight, but has been ruled out.

On the other hand, the engineer of the European Space Agency, Andrea Boyd, has explained that according to experts the object comes from an Indian rocket that was launching a satellite: “based on the shape and size, it is an upper stage engine of an Indian rocket that is used for many different missions.”

That Indian rocket could be the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket and the Indian Defense Research Wing has already claimed the object as their own.