Dangerous: Meteorite explodes in Russia

[CommanderOtto]

events like this remind us how we could be hit by a meteorite one day and not even know it's coming.



of course, the meteorite didn't turn day into night... it's the freakin camera changing brightness to adjust. Still...

These kinds of events happen about once every 5 years ( I think the last time something like this happened was in 2009, not sure though). Most of these incidents happen and no one actually sees them coming. Incredible how the blast destroyed the windows, followed by the little pieces falling.

[THEWULFMAN]

Pretty badass [poo] Russians have to go through. I respect and like the people there, but [m'kay] their government, especially Putin.

Hope the people in critical condition pull through.

[CommanderOtto]

What really captures my attention is that these things really come in as a surprise. No one saw it coming. Most civilization ending asteroids have been found but the smaller ones (which could cause explosions such as the Tunguska event) are very hard to detect. Regarding the Tunguska event in 1908:

"Although the meteoroid or comet appears to have burst in the air rather than hitting the surface, this event still is referred to as an impact. Estimates of the energy of the blast range from 5 to as high as 30 megatons of TNT (21–130 PJ),[7][8] with 10–15 megatons of TNT (42–63 PJ) the most likely[8]—roughly equal to the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear bomb tested on March 1, 1954; about 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan; and about two-fifths the power of the later Soviet Union's own Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated.[9]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event

but [m'kay] their government, especially Putin.

agreed there.

[Brazosgrad]

Dang. There was a massive public shower and I forgot to bring a gift. Where are my manners?

On the serious side, I'm certainly glad no one was killed and that we at least have some video to learn and potentially plan from.

[CommanderOtto]

Dang. There was a massive public shower and I forgot to bring a gift. Where are my manners?

On the serious side, I'm certainly glad no one was killed and that we at least have some video to learn and potentially plan from.

I just read this information from Fox News:

....Apparently, size ers, explained Andrew Cheng of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
"It doesn’t take a very large object. A 10-meter size object already packs the same energy as a nuclear bomb," Cheng, who led a 2000-2001 mission for NASA to orbit and land on an asteroid, told FoxNews.com.

The Russian meteor -- estimated to be just 10 tons and about 15 meters or 49 feet wide -- entered the Earth's atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of at least 33,000 mph and shattered about 18-32 miles above the ground. It released the energy of several kilotons above the Chelyabinsk region.

I was a bit curious as why a 15 meter wide meteorite didn't obliterate the Russian town like in Hiroshima. So I asked an astronomy professor that I know, and he said the above info is true. Since the blast was 20 miles high, at that altitude the energy of the explosion goes up instead of going down. He then said about the town:

They dodged a bullet.

They were this close of becoming a memorial.

[LowfatCriminal]

Reminded me of Transformers.
Haha that was really cool and I'm glad no one was killed.

[WD-40]

Well, latest I read was that the meteor was about the size of a 7000 ton school bus and hit with the force of 20 Hiroshimas. I think the media doesn't know what they're talking about, because 20 Hiroshimas would have vaporized or at least destroyed everything up to 15 miles around the impact site.

[CommanderOtto]

Well, latest I read was that the meteor was about the size of a 7000 ton school bus and hit with the force of 20 Hiroshimas. I think the media doesn't know what they're talking about, because 20 Hiroshimas would have vaporized or at least destroyed everything up to 15 miles around the impact site.

we have to wait a while cause all the news are showing different estimates I already see the reporter desperately finding info in the last minute before publishing.

[Duel of Fates]

Well, latest I read was that the meteor was about the size of a 7000 ton school bus and hit with the force of 20 Hiroshimas. I think the media doesn't know what they're talking about, because 20 Hiroshimas would have vaporized or at least destroyed everything up to 15 miles around the impact site.

You are correct. It actually would have been larger than 15. But it did not impact. The explosion was 15 to 25 miles up. The Shock Wave was still powerful. Imagine if it had exploded 5 to 10 miles up, we would be looking at another Tunguska blast.

[CommanderOtto]

Well, latest I read was that the meteor was about the size of a 7000 ton school bus and hit with the force of 20 Hiroshimas. I think the media doesn't know what they're talking about, because 20 Hiroshimas would have vaporized or at least destroyed everything up to 15 miles around the impact site.

You are correct. It actually would have been larger than 15. But it did not impact. The explosion was 15 to 25 miles up. The Shock Wave was still powerful. Imagine if it had exploded 5 to 10 miles up, we would be looking at another Tunguska blast.

exactly. When I stated that my professor said "the above info is true" I was referring to the fact that a small size meteorite can cause a hiroshima style explosion (as explained by Dr. Chen in the news) but that doesn't mean the size stated by fox news is true.