A mysterious large cylindrical object washed up on a South Carolina beach over the weekend, leaving residents baffled as to its origin. The UFO-like "space junk" was described as being soft and feeling like foam.

The object was found by Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network who were usually deployed to deal with animals struggling on the shoreline. The object was discovered on Seabrook Island on Thursday and photos surfaced over the weekend.

"Look at this mysterious object that washed ashore on Seabrook Island today! What do you think it is?" the group posted on Facebook.

Immediately after the image circulated on social media, people came up with several theories to determine the type and origin of the object. The most likely explanation was the object was a dredge pipe float or part of a buoy.

Researchers from the city of Charleston came out to investigate the object before taking it away, the Daily Mail reported.

"There was something similar on Kiawah today too!" a person named Kathy Kinslow May said. “I wish I’d taken a pic. No one could figure out what it was. We finally thought it must have been part of a marine buoy.”

Another person Sandy Behrens said: "Aliens! It does look like something from Cape Canaveral. I remember seeing something similar in St. Lucia."

One person commented on the Facebook post: "We saw some chunks smaller than this though that washed up on myrtle beach while we were there last fri,sat,sun,mon,about 6 or 7 chunks of it." Another user wrote: "Def NOT space junk. that likely wouldn't have survived re-entry, and if it did, it would look much different on the exterior surfaces."

In June, the Charlotte Observer reported a similar mystery object — made of metal — washed ashore at Corolla. Guesses at the time ranged from an "experimental radar reflector" to a "Russian Radioisotope Thermal Generator used to power remote light houses." Others believed it was just part of a mooring buoy.

In another incident, a UFO-like object was spotted on a beach. In January, a bizarre looking object was uncovered on Burry Port beach in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. The mysterious structure was exposed due to coastal erosion on the banks of the beach.

A curious beachgoer snapped the photo of the structure, which later turned out to be the base of an experimental wind turbine.