Russian Meteor Mayhem

A few years ago, British science writer David Spiegelhalter calculated that the odds of a person on Earth being hit by a falling meteorite are about one in 20 quadrillion. I suspect, however, that those odds weren't much comfort to the 1,200 Russians injured as the result of a 10,000-ton meteor that exploded high over the Ural Mountains just after sunrise on Friday. 

Although initially reported by the Russian Academy of Sciences as smaller and lighter, NASA says the meteor was 55 feet in diameter and weighed 10,000 tons when it entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of about 40,000 miles per hour, and then shattered into pieces between 18 and 32 miles above the Earth's surface. The blast released what the Associated Press describes as "the power of an atomic bomb" and sent fragments raining down upon Chelyabinsk, a Russian city of one million, which lies about 930 miles east of Moscow. (See photos of the aftermath.) The shock wave caused by the meteor shattered an estimated one million square meters of glass, and damaged 3,000 buildings in the city, according to local officials quoted by AP. The Moscow Times reported that it caused an estimated $33 million in damage. Here's a YouTube video shot by a local resident, showing the contrail left in the sky by the meteor, and the sound of the blast.

Check out this video to see more footage of the meteor captured by witnesses:

 

Most of 1,200 people actually were injured by flying glass, rather than pieces of the meteorite itself, the AP reports. (BBC News  put the number of injured people at "at least 950.") One of them was Chelyabinsk resident Marat Lobkovsky. "I went to see what the flash in the sky was about," he told the AP. "And then the window glass shattered, bouncing back on me." 

The US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology put out this release calling today's meteor crash a "...a stark reminder of the need to invest in space science."

The meteor strike had an eerie coincidence to it, coming on the same day that a much larger near earth object, the office-building-sized asteroid 2012 DA14, is scheduled to pass as close as 17,000 miles to the Earth's surface. NASA quickly put out a statement noting that the trajectory of the smaller object that exploded over Russia was different from the asteroid, and that the two events appear to be "completely unrelated."

Here's a live stream of the passing asteroid from NASA:

Live video from your iPhone using Ustream Even so, it was a chilling reminder of what might happen when a much larger object strikes the Earth. That's something that the Russians know about. On June 30, 1908, a huge fireball crossed the sky in Siberia and exploded in a huge blast--now known as the Tunguska Event--that leveled trees over an 830-square mile area, according to an expedition that visited the remote area 13 years later. The researchers were unable to find an impact crater, oddly, and today, we remain unsure about exactly what it was that caused the explosion, with scientists debating whether it was a large meteor, an asteroid, or perhaps even a comet.

Meanwhile, a Russian jokester had a little Photoshop fun, and tweeted this image of a bare-chested Russian President Vladimir Putin riding the Chelyabinsk meteor.

Watch this Meteorite Men video to learn more about the science behind falling meteors:

 

Comments

[HaHa]

Too bad you canceled Meteorite Men huh?

[Fact Checker]

"1,200 Russians who were injured by pieces of a massive 10,000-ton meteor that exploded high over the Ural Mountains just after sunrise on Friday"

This is totally false. NO people were hit by any piece, anywhere. People were injured by shattering glass and debris from the shock wave. Please hire better science writers.

[Fact Checker]

Hey Science Channel, get rid of Patrick Kiger and hire me! You have my email address...

[WorstReportEver]

This was the worst "scientific" report I have ever seen. So nauseating I actually had to turn it off. Absolutely worthless. I am embarrassed for anyone associated with running this show.

[Wendy]

One part of your "Fire in the Sky" special said that the Mauna Kea Observatory is "4,200 miles or 6,800 kilometers above sea level." How on earth could such a stupid mistake make it past everyone involved???

[Sci-Fi fan]

I'd love to see some new film about asteroid hits prevention. Something like this, but visualized and explained by professionals: http://scifi-real.com/how-to-avoid-impacts-with-objects-from-space/

We need such technologies ASAP.

[Janne Weiske]

I find it interesting that NASA discounts any relationship between the asteroid arrival, and the meteor impacts. Yes I know that we are constantly under some bombardment by particles, and small meteors. But the possibility that the asteroid in its' arrival through or from the asteroid belt,disturbed the path of stray meteors can't be discounted.

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[nikita]

В рекламе на канале дискавери sc, про челябинский метеорит не запикнули слово пиздец,примерно в конце рекламы.во время титр.

[ben marshall]

Sorry, there is no preparation nor defense for THE killer meteor. The Sci-channel is distracted with the tools of science failing to recognize a great threat to mankind: that we can actually do something about.

But sci-channel's showcasing a new breed of mundane female sci-groupies in their gender activism is a more important endeavor. They work at NASA and they are shown dancing around vortexes while they furnish no original thought or theoretical edge. Just intramural sci-custodians wandering in the labs.

They occupy themselves with nesting instincts, like climate change & SETI fantasies, while ignoring the growing pressure under the Yellowstone Caldera. We know that is going to blow and it is due, yet they discuss everything else in peddling their eco/political agenda to stimulate garnering grants for more frivolous "discoveries". Women flit from DDT, Alar to climate and extraterrestrials trying to whip up enthusiasm for the stupidest things. I say, best we design machinery to depressurize and relieve Yellowstone. Jobs. It will provide a great source of energy while we are at it.

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Ez a cikk táplálja lelkem! Köszönjük a megosztást.

[écharpe burberry]

Me encanta! Usted tiene un ojo creativo y hacer todo lo que pones juntos trabajar.