10 kg steel ball suspected to be an alien

A steel ball about 20 cm in diameter was found in a family's yard in Florida in 1974, and could "roll and change direction by itself".

The mysterious Betz sphere is about 20 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 10 kilograms. Photo: Florida Times-Union Archive/WJCT

After a fire in March 1974, the Betz family of Fort George Island, Florida, discovered a strange metal ball in their yard. At first, they thought it was a Spanish cannonball from the Renaissance. But the ball was clean, uncorroded, and still shiny, while weapons of the time were usually made of iron or stone, not stainless steel or silver plating. Another strange thing was that when the ball was brought into the house, it began to "work on its own." The Betz family said the ball rolled on its own, making noises and even vibrating.

While playing the guitar, Antoine and Gerri Betz’s son, Terry, noticed that the ball responded to the guitar and made a banging sound, scaring the family dog. Things got even stranger when they sat on the floor and rolled the ball towards each other. When rolled, it would change direction mid-way and come back to the person who rolled it.

“When the family dog ​​approached the sphere, it started whining and covering its ears with its paws, which I had never seen before,” Gerri Betz said in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times in April 1974. The Betz family also suspected that solar radiation was affecting the sphere, causing it to move violently when the Sun was shining brightly.

The sphere, which is about 20 cm in diameter and weighs about 10 kg, is now known as the "Betz Mystery Sphere". When an expert from a research company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, examined the sphere, "he discovered radio waves coming from it and a magnetic field around it", said Gerri Betz. The strange details of the sphere have led many to speculate that it is of extraterrestrial origin.

Wayne Betz and the strange orb. Photo: Florida Times-Union Archive/WJCT

The US Navy then analyzed the sphere at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. A Navy spokesman told the St. Petersburg Times that the first attempt at X-raying failed because their machine wasn't powerful enough to penetrate the steel, but two subsequent tests revealed the sphere's contents. "I don't know who made it, but it came from Earth. We know it's not explosive and it's not dangerous," the spokesman said.

The Betz family then sent the sphere to renowned astronomer and UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek for examination. Hynek also agreed that the object was man-made.

After the U.S. Navy inspected the sphere and determined it was made of steel, it was compared to a stainless steel sphere made by the Bell & Howell Company of Jacksonville. Upon seeing news reports about the mysterious Betz sphere, the company's president, Robert Edwards, showed reporters a stainless steel sphere measuring 8 inches in diameter and weighing more than 20 pounds, almost identical in size.

"I'm not saying this thing doesn't come from outer space because I've never seen it. All I'm saying is that the physical description of it matches the type of sphere we have," Edwards said.

As for the ball's strange behavior, experts say it may actually be rolling on an uneven floor. "I believe the ball moves because of the way the house is built. It's old and the stone floor is uneven. The ball is almost perfectly balanced and even the slightest indentation would cause it to move or change direction," a US Navy spokesman said.

Furthermore, it would be difficult for aliens with advanced technology to use Earth's 431 steel alloy - commonly used in aircraft, pins, and bolts. It would not survive the long and extremely hot crash to Earth. Even a solid steel ball would not be able to escape damage.

It’s understandable that a Florida family would think that a strange object in their yard had some incredible properties. In the absence of hard scientific data, this story can spread very quickly. The 1970s were also the heyday of UFO belief. But in reality, the mysterious Betz sphere is more likely to be a lost, manufactured object.

Thu Thao (According to Popular Mechanics )

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