Monolith artifact

The Monolith is a fictional extraterrestrial device and the key plot device featured in the "Space Odyssey" series of novels and films. The concept of the Monolith was created by author Arthur C. Clarke and expanded upon by director Stanley Kubrick in the 1968 sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The nature and function of the Monoliths are as mysterious as their origins and each Monolith possesses its own unique properties. The three most well-known Monoliths are the ones found on Earth, the moon and in the orbit of Jupiter, respectively classified as TMA-0, 1 and 2. TMA is short for Tycho Magnetic Anomaly and originates from the first Monolith discovered by man, which was located buried beneath the Tycho Crater on the moon in the year 2000.