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Subscribe to RSSA massive meteor hit the Earth's atmosphere, creating a giant shock wave that injured more than 1,000 people. On the same day, an asteroid half the size of a football field came within 17,200 miles from Earth. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
A meteor flared through the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region early Friday, triggering an atomic bomb-sized shock wave that injured more than a thousand people, blew out windows and caused some Russians to fear the end of the world.
NASA said it was the largest reported fireball since the Tunguska event in 1908 — an asteroid explosion that flattened millions of trees over 820 square miles of remote Siberian forest.
Friday's event was witnessed by throngs of Russians in Chelyabinsk, a city of 1.1 million in western Siberia. Multiple amateur videos posted online showed the meteor’s flaring arc stretching hundreds of miles across the sky. Other videos from the scene captured the sound of a loud boom, followed by a cacophony of car alarms. One video showed the hurried evacuation of an office building in Chelyabinsk.
“There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people’s houses to check if they were OK,” Chelyabinsk resident Sergey Hametov told The Associated Press. “We saw a big burst of light then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound.”
Another resident described the meteorite's flash.
"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name, told Reuters. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shock wave that smashed windows."
The impact involved a 50-foot-wide (15-meter-wide), 7,000-ton asteroid that zoomed in from space at a velocity of 40,000 mph (18 kilometers per second), NASA officials said. They said the shock of atmospheric entry blasted the rock apart at a height of 12 to 15 miles (20 to 25 kilometers), releasing the energy equivalent of 300 to 500 kilotons of TNT. That's more than 10 times the energy released by the atom bombs that exploded over Japan at the end of World War II. In fact, NASA said its estimates were based on readings from infrasound sensors that were set up by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization to detect nuclear blasts.
The fireball hit just hours before a 150-foot-wide asteroid, known as 2012 DA14, came within 17,200 miles of Earth during an unusually close but harmless flyby. NASA officials said there was no connection between the two events. "It's simply a coincidence," said Paul Chodas, an asteroid researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA said the flash momentarily shone brighter than the sun — an assessment that was echoed by eyewitnesses in Chelyabinsk.
"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day," Viktor Prokofiev told Reuters. "I felt like I was blinded by headlights.”
No fatalities were reported, but Russia's Interior Ministry said about 1,100 people sought medical care after the shock wave. About 50 were hospitalized. Most of the injured were cut by glass from windows that were shattered by the blast's shock wave. More than 200 children at Chelyabinsk schools were said to be among the injured.
Chelyabinsk resident Marat Lobkovsky's experience was typical: "I went to see what that flash in the sky was about," he told AP. "And then the window glass shattered, bouncing back on me. My beard was cut open, but not deep. They patched me up, it’s OK now."
Another city resident, Valya Kazakov, said the brilliant flare and loud explosion caused older women in his neighborhood to fear that the world was ending.
City officials told AP that 3,000 buildings in the Chelyabinsk region were damaged, including a zinc factory warehouse that lost its roof and part of a wall because of the shock wave's battering. Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said as many as 10,000 police were mobilized to aid in the recovery and remove debris.
There were no significant disturbances to public utilities or communications, Vladimir Stepanov of the Emergency Situation Ministry told Itar-Tass. "No serious consequences have been so far recorded," Stepanov said. "There has been no disruption in the rail and air transport work."
A search was conducted to find any fragments that survived when the space rock blew itself apart. A photo provided by the Chelyabinsk regional police department showed a 20-foot-wide (6-meter-wide) hole in the ice covering a lake near the town of Chebakul where some of the fragments reportedly fell.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, speaks to NBC's Lester Holt about the meteor and asteroid that approached Earth on Friday.
The shallow angle at which the meteor crossed the sky over Chelyabinsk contributed to the amount of damage, according to Margaret Campbell-Brown, an astronomer and physicist at the University of Western Ontario. “It’s like a sonic boom,” Campbell-Brown said of the shock wave. “A sonic boom from a plane can shatter windows, but this sonic boom was much stronger than a plane."
It was a once-in-a-decade event, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson told TODAY on Friday. He explained that the meteor impact was the physics equivalent of hitting a brick wall. “When you hit a brick wall, you basically explode, and that’s what happened here, and it exploded in midair,” Tyson said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said the incident showed the need for the world's nations to develop a system to intercept objects falling from space. "At the moment, neither we nor the Americans have such technologies" to shoot down meteors or asteroids, he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Coincidentally, experts from NASA and other agencies were at a U.N. space conference in Vienna on Friday to discuss strategies for developing an asteroid early warning system.
Yekaterina Pustynnikova / Chelyabinsk.ru via AP
A huge meteor flared through the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region, triggering a powerful shock wave that injured nearly a thousand people, blew out windows and reportedly caused the roof of a factory to collapse.
More about cosmic impacts:
- Meteor blast sparks conspiracy theories in Russia
- Internet users watch asteroid fly by and fade out
- Asteroid's close shave ranks among top hits and misses
- Meteorite from California fireball reveals its secrets
This report includes information from The Associated Press and Reuters.
The videos just keep streaming in from Chelyabinsk. You'll find lots of great clips and stills on this Live Journal page and this WBVF wrap-up. Thanks to my Twitter pals for passing them along.
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
This story was originally published on Fri Feb 15, 2013 5:05 AM EST
Leave a Comment:
why watch the near miss when we can watch the real deal that happened in russia,,, oh btw, the meteor and the asteroid were not related in any way....huh? derr dahh,, scientist are so smart there stupid..
It easy enough to tell if they are related so to speak. If the small one is from the big one they will have similar velocities and trajectories with only a small delta V between them like two cars on a highway. If this is not the case then they are not related. Tidal forces may tear apart a rock like the shoemaker comet was by Jupiter but they still end up traveling in the same direction. Simple science that even the stupid can work out.
1.21 giga watts of energy,, great scott,,, enough to energize the flux capacitor,,, my question is,, if theres one isnt there usually another,, considering the vastness of space rocks out there?
Just like Battle LA!!! Maybe the meteors aren't really meteors and astroid 2012 DA 14 is actually their mothership!!! LOLLL :) Kidding aside, do all the cars in Russia have camcorders that run all the time?
Well if you lived in Siberia wouldn't you be recording every minute of it? Just the pictures make me cold and depressed....
me gusta mamar pinga gratis
The more I think about the events today concerning asteroid 2012 da14 and the exploding asteroid over Chebarkul, Russia, the more questions I have. Perhaps there is no threat today or within the next week from asteroid 2012 da14 and it's accompanying "swarm", but, could there be a threat in the near future from the altered course of some of the pieces in the swarm?
I think it's reasonable to assume that the US, Russian, EU and Chinese military were able to track the smaller asteroid that blew up over Chebarkul, Russia. Even this was hinted at during the shockingly short period of news coverage. And, if this smaller asteroid was indeed tracked by more sensitive military equipment, and this was not reported, then, what if there are other pieces of the swarm that are also being tracked, but not reported on?
This brings forth other questions. What if there are other larger asteroids connected with asteroid 2012 da14 and it's swarm that are also not being reported? We had non-stop, 24 hours, ad nauseum coverage of an ex-football player running from the law in his white ford bronco on the LA freeways, and yet, a historically narrow miss of an asteroid which occurs on the same day a smaller asteroid blows up over a town in Russia causing panic and thousands of injuries and blowing out windows for kilometers gets no "indepth" coverage and no reasonable questions asked (move along folks, nothing to see here). There is shockingly little news coverage. AND, no questions and no indepth grilling of "scientists".
All this makes it seem that we live n a world that still has many doubting global warming, but, are so willing to accept the fact that these astronomically rare incidences are just "cosmic coincidence". I cannot be the only person with questions. But, the shocking thing to me is that there is no one in the media that are asking these questions. It seems like complicity. But, my feeling is, is that in the next week or month, the same questions will be asked where they can only be asked. On the internet - on social media. And, it will be made to look like a "conspiracy theory" cult. Given that the news media has made it look like there was nothing to report (because of lack of coverage) and no questions to be asked. Reasonable questions.
Yeah, they could have seen it. If it was close enough and if they were looking in the right direction and exactly the right time. They might have seen a blip right before it hit. It's tiny compared to what is actually tracked or can be tracked. And it's not the military doing this. All their sensors are out there pointing in, not out except for tracking space junk in orbit that might damage that ability. Unless it blew up with a lot of gamma rays or tripped missile launch detectors the military probably didn't notice.
The infrasound sensor network set up by the CTBTO to detect nuclear blast saw the explosion. I assume it's the military who monitors that but again..day late and a dollar short at that point and not the purpose of the sensors. Now if you have reason to believe these are terrorist asteroids we can probably divert some defense dollars to some new sensors.
Wow! Just saw the hole. Grab the fishing poles...and vodka...lots and lots of vodka.
The Arab world blames Israel for the meteor, and has taken to the streets in violent protest!
Massive is relative...
Yeah, still fifty feet wide and a half a megaton at the ground would have been massive. Thank you all you bouncy little molecules for standing your ground!
Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke 21:25 -26; " There shall be signs in the sun, in the moon and the stars; and on the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the seas and the waves roaring; men's heart failing them from fear and the expectation of those things that are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
The prophetic words of Jesus means the earth will face:
1. Sun storms 2. Meteorite strikes on the moon that will destabilize its orbit 3. Political, religious conflicts with added commercial wars 4. earthquakes and tsunamis, 5. falling meteors that target earth.
While many have condemned the words of Jesus as fear mongering and treated them with utter disbelief, it seems Jesus was right on the spot. That is what we are going through now, or at least the beginning of that events.
Well if he's shooting for the moon and that's the best he can do I'm not going to stress over it too much yet. Keep me apprised...
Please remain calm.
AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
It's not about the asteroid.
Looks like I need to modify my asteroid attractor. Mine appears to have pulled in the wrong one. Oh well, back to the drawing board...
I wonder if there was a Russian general somewhere with one sweaty hand hovering over the launch button while the other squashed a phone to his ear, listening for confirmation of the "incoming's" origin...
There was a knock on the Door...
Albrect Durer,,dropped by with some wood-cuts of fallen Stars..
Eziekiel... woke up from his strange Dream...looking for a keyboard and an audience..
J.C..came over ..ridin' his Harley in..pulled up a chair for a poker game..
At the end of the Day..everyone breathed a sigh of relief..standing around waiting for someone else's epitaph..
It was just one of those Daze.....And The Dish ran away with the Spoon..
Another Tunguska event Russia DOESN'T NEED !!! It would be too Horrible to contemplate !!!
I went to google earth, the coordinates of the sighting, and it could be just me, or not, but if you look to the east of that area it looks like at one time it was peppered by meteor fragments. Now I am not a conspiracy theorist and it could be just the topography of that area, but could someone tell me whether all those round pond and formations are man made or natural? Or was there at some time a similar event that rained fragments onto that area? LOL, I will have to go to ATS and see if anyone has posted a nuttier theory. And yes those round pond could easily be man made.
Bee sting
Toooooo bad it didn't hit the LAPD or San burnadino SO they like fire soooooo much.....
To bad it didn't hit LA
I'd hate to be an Italian astronomer right now.
JDTexan
Actually my wizard friend, I DO think taxes should be raised on those in the upper echelon of earnings, but the taxes must be accompanied by SPENDING CUTS. The extra income should go to pay down the deficit, and cuts should be made for things such as food stamps and the other so-called "safety nets" (which BTW is nothing more than a phrase coined by politicians to make the massive spending on unnecessary program sound more humane). When we as a society become less concerned with manufactured "wars on women" and other such non-sense, then we might actually become a credible nation again (fiscally speaking). Right now we are looked upon as a joke by China because of our overriding focus on social issues as opposed to fiscal issues. I know that may pain your bleeding heart, but it will be even more painful when we spend ourselves into oblivion and China steps in and takes over. That isn't just scary talk, but a reality which we as a country face. And, yes, as a former "washington insider" who worked in the CBO, I have seen the numbers and they aren't pretty.
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Actually my Texan friend I do not think of a programs such as Medicare & Social Security that are designed to provide our seniors and disabled the desperately needed medical assistance they (over the course of their lifetimes have paid into and deserve). or a child going cold and hungry as a "phrase coined by politicians to make the massive spending on unnecessary program". I see them as extraordinarily necessary and I believe anyone who is attempting to or has in ANYWAY tried to defrauded them (are you listening Politicians and Insurance companies????) should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!
You know as I listen to your cold calculate analysis of our situation I am reminded of another
individual in history also felt the "bleeding hearts" concerned with the wellbeing of others , or others, other than themselves was a farce that would lead to world collapse too! He believed that so strongly that he invented the purity of what he deemed a “super race” unfettered by the weaknesses of concern, or the frailties of normal human life ... unfortunately he also over saw the most evil & bloodiest mass murdering war mongering society in history. I wonder if Adolph Hitler ever learned anything from all the agony he promoted with all his dissention and strife promoting the differences between us all . Or whether any of us ever have learned anything from it??? Judging from your willingnes to be so cold and calculating in you analysis regarding human life and wellbeing thereof my Texan friend it is notlooking good for us!
How sad you seem to be unable or is it unwilling to foresee a middle ground where we all care for each other And do so within our monetary means. You know something like President Obama has been and is promoting! And the decline in our deficit over the last 4 years DO NOT support the common republican lie that the Obama administration is overspreadingand out of control .. so save the rhetoric for someone else who may believe it!
The Man from Planet X crash landed in Scotland in a classic black and white movie, but he didn't land in the water. The air supply he has is limited by a valve on his space suit. When they disposed of the star-ship Enterprise it made a contrail just like that. Has anyone checked with the ISS, the space station? There's gas under some Siberian lakes that could ignite if an object dug in too deeply and sparked. If a saucer, the chances are it needed a zinc upgrade and was on its way to get some plutonium. If a meteor or other, how did it get through all the space junk up there in orbit, or could there be space junk, satellite parts and rocket debris embedded in... what rank in their government was it before the crash? What rank is it now? Been to Jupiter lately? It just came out of retrograde, in Gemini, since October. Could have created a warp for the thing. I wonder if it woke up the monster of the lake.
It's so simple, folks. All we need to do is get the government to ban asteroids, and they will no longer pose a threat.
So Kal El is now going to be Russian?
"Those guys may be great astronauts, but they don't know jack about drilling. I need my team to do this job." -Harry Stamper from "Armageddon"
Let's ban these meteorite things right now before this thing goes any further. No individual has any need to puchase, own or throw meteorites at another person. We need to nip this meteorite thing in the bud. As Barney Fife so famously said, "9 out of 10 doctors are in favor of bud nippin'.".
Just because the grown-ups wouldn't let you masturbate when you were 3 doesn't mean you have to spend your whole life playing with guns.. oh wait, maybe it does :-(
I too have spend many years playing with guns.....they call it the Army here. 28 years to be exact and many years training soldiers that have been protecting your right to be as stupid as you are. So go ahead and be just as stupid as you like, your doing a very good job of it. How many years have you trained to get like this? So enjoy your freedom and the liberty you have now.