2001: A Space Odyssey fans lose minds over discovery of monolith in Utah desert

 (Rex Features)
(Rex Features)

Fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey are getting quite excited following the discovery of a large monolith in the Utah desert.

The structure was first spotted by a state employee from a helicopter.

It was later discovered by the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The monolith, which is made of smooth, black-grey metal, is said to stand between an estimated 10 and 12 feet.

It appears to be planted into the ground and looks unlike anything in the surrounding area.

<p>The monolith was first spotted from a helicopter in Utah</p>PA

The monolith was first spotted from a helicopter in Utah

PA

In Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction film, an adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s short story The Sentinel, a similar monolith is discovered by a tribe of appears in a prehistoric African location.

Bret Hutchings, who was flying the helicopter, told KSLTV: “I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big 2001: A Space Odyssey fan.”

He called it “the strangest thing that I’ve come across out there in all my years of flying”.

2020: A Space Odyssey was not on my bingo card for this year,” one person quipped, with another adding: “A barrel of monkeys were just spotted heading south out of Utah.”

A third 2001 fan wrote: “What will happen in December? The monolith. monkeys. It all comes together.”