14 DAY TRIAL // The news just broke that a peculiar substance, best described as a weird-looking green slime, was found at the RSPB Ham Wall Nature Reserve in Somerset.
Under usual circumstances, biologists and wildlife researchers would be the only ones to take a special interest in this slime's showing up in said part of England.
However, given the recent meteor crash in Russia, quite a lot of people seem eager to learn more about the jelly-like substance.
This is because, according to several folktales, such slime is no more and no less than astral jelly, a.k.a. space slime, astromyxin or star jelly.
More precisely, rumor has it that such substances come from outer space, hence their only making an appearance following meteor crashes and meteor showers.
Granted, the meteor struck Russia and this slime was found in England, yet those who hold folktales very close at heart are unlikely to back down on their claims on account of such geography-related details.
Sources quote Tony Whitehead, a spokesperson for the RSPB, who made a case of how, “Although we don't know what it actually is, similar substances have been described previously. In records dating back to the 14th Century it's known variously as star jelly, astral jelly or astromyxin.”
“In folklore it is said to be deposited in the wake of meteor showers. Our reserve team will be looking out for the slime over the next few days, but if anyone can offer any explanations we'd be glad to hear,” he went on to add.
By the looks of it, piles of this so-called astral jelly have mostly been found on grass banks, at a considerable distance from the water's edge.
As well as this, most of the piles had a diameter of roughly 4 inches (about 10 centimeters).
Presently, the staff at the RSPB Ham Wall Nature Reserve is waiting for specialists to conduct various tests on this weird-looking jelly-like substance, and maybe even provide them with some answers.
Up until now, it has been suggested that the substance might be nothing more and nothing less than bacteria, fungus or toad innards.