What is the mysterious metal structure in Utah? Scientists find monolith akin to one in film '2001: A Space Odyssey'
The Utah Department of Public Safety was helping the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources count bighorn sheep in a remote southern part of the state when the crew spotted something strange from the helicopter. During the count, they came across a “sheet of metal buried in the middle of nowhere.” A biologist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources saw the object from the sky, prompting the crew to land and investigate the “object of unknown origin,” “the alien lifeform."
“One of the biologists is the one who spotted it and we just happened to fly directly over the top of it. “He was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!’ And I was like, ‘what.’ And he’s like, ‘There’s this thing back there – we’ve got to go look at it!’” DPS helicopter pilot Bret Hutchings told a local news station.
The mysterious monolith discovered in the middle of the barren Utah desert is estimated to be between 10 feet and 12 feet high, and it appeared to be planted into the ground, hidden among the rocks. While not much is known about the structure, it appears to be made from some kind of metal, and its shine is in sharp contrast to the red rocks which surrounded it.
The images of the curious-looking monolith and the sheep were shared by the Utah Highway Patrol on social media. People made some funny comments and suggestions. One wrote, “Sorry, my bad. I accidentally left this out there on my last time travel to 2019. I’ll be back to pick it up in a few weeks. Please don’t open it. You’ve been warned.” One suggested that “it fell off of the ufo we’ve been seeing in Ogden lately,” and another said that it is “leftovers from a Star Trek episode.”
People also guessed that it could be a sundial or solstice calendar marker, a wormhole to another dimension, or an aerial trail marker. A person suggested it should be left alone because “this is most definitely not the year to disturb something else.”
Hutchings referred to it as one of the strangest things that he has come across in “all my years of flying.” The pilot also spoke about the object’s similarity to the iconic monolith featured in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ in which a group of apes encounters a giant slab. He suggested that it may have been made by an artist or a huge fan of the science fiction film. “I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big fan,” he added referring to the movie.
Hutchings noted that the object looked manmade and appeared to have been firmly planted in the ground, not dropped from the sky. “We were, like, thinking is this something NASA stuck up there or something. Are they bouncing satellites off it or something?” he emphasized.
After the crew members landed to take a closer look, they also climbed on each other’s shoulders to reach the top of the structure, reveals a video obtained by KLS TV. “We were kind of joking around that if one of us suddenly disappears, then the rest of us make a run for it,” he said.
The @UtahDPS helicopter was assisting the @UtahDWR in counting bighorn sheep in remote southern Utah Wednesday when the crew encountered something entirely 'out of this world'...@KSL5TV #KSLTV #Utah
— Andrew Adams (@AndrewAdamsKSL) November 21, 2020
Photojournalist: @Photog_Steve5 pic.twitter.com/f8P0fayDIS
As the crew headed home, they had more questions than answers. However, officials did not reveal the exact location of the object as “it is in a very remote area and if individuals were to attempt to visit the area, there is a significant possibility they may become stranded and require rescue.”