Posted on 02/16/2013 11:40:13 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
A Russian policeman works near an ice hole, said by the Interior Ministry department for Chelyabinsk region to be the point of impact of a meteor seen earlier in the Urals region, at lake Chebarkul some 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Chelyabinsk February 15, 2013 (Reuters / Chelyabinsk region Interior Ministry)
Russian scientists investigating the meteorite explosion in the Urals explained the nature of the event that caused havoc in the region. NASA said the shockwave force was equal to a 500-kiloton explosion – 30 times the Hiroshima blast.
The object was identified as a solitary 10-ton bolide by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN). Bolides, or bright fireballs, are large meteors that explode in the lower atmosphere, and unlike meteorite showers they can be dangerous, scientists explained.
The Chelyabinsk fireball entered the atmosphere moving at a speed of about 20 km/s. The object, which was several meters in diameter, then burst into pieces at a height of 30-50 km above the ground, RAN reported.
Three consecutive explosions shattered the meteorite further. Large fragments moving at a high speed caused a powerful flash and a strong shockwave, with most of its energy released at a height of 5 to 15 km above the earth, with the atmosphere absorbing most of that energy.
NASA has increased its estimate of the energy released during the blast to nearly 500 kilotons of TNT. The calculations were based on the data from infrasound stations across the globe, some being over 6,500 kilometers away from Chelyabinsk. In comparison, the US atom bomb 'Little Boy' destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 with only 16 kilotons.
The impact and the sound of the blast reached the ground minutes after the explosion, causing havoc and panic in Chelyabinsk. While most of the object burned down during the fall, the remaining parts showered over the region, possibly adding to the damage and injuries.
The actual power of the blast is still being discussed, with some scientists estimating it as low as 0.1 kilotons and others saying it could be nearly 500 kilotons, depending on the height the explosion was registered. Conflicting reports also centered on the trajectory of the falling body.
The combustion products won’t stay in the atmosphere for long, and will soon come down with precipitation, Russian scientists said. The meteorite is believed to have caused no significant pollution, but the elements it emitted could only be identified after studying its fragments, they added. So far, RAN and Emergency services have denied the possibility of radioactive pollution.
MET-7 view (Copyright 2013 © EUMETSAT)
Russian space agency Roscosmos earlier admitted they did not track the meteorite that fell near Chelyabinsk, although several other flybys were detected by Roshydromet overnight. “Our ground facilities and, as I understand, those abroad too did not monitor this celestial body,” the agency spokesman said.
Astronomers around the globe didn’t notice the object coming either, and rushed in search of its traces on satellite images after the news spread.
“Objects like that are nearly impossible to see until a day or two before impact,” Timothy Spahr of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts told Nature Magazine.
Although the meteor was relatively small to detect, some argued its blast was comparable with the power of a nuclear bomb.
According to Canadian astronomer Margaret Campbell-Brown, the blast could be even more powerful than North Korea’s recent nuclear test. Citing the data from two infrasound stations near the impact site, she estimated the object to be 15 meters in diameter with a mass of around 40 tons.
“That would make it the biggest object recorded to hit the Earth since Tunguska,” Campbell-Brown told Nature Magazine.
Most scientists both in Russia and abroad do not believe the Chelyabinsk bolide had anything to do with the asteroid 2012 DA14, which is expected to fly by just hours later.
Weather sattelite Meteosat 10 has taken an image of the meteriote shortly after entering the atmosphere (Copyright 2013 © EUMETSAT)
Weather sattelite Meteosat 10 has taken an image of the meteriote shortly after entering the atmosphere (Copyright 2013 © EUMETSAT)
Here’s a video of the San Fran meteor. Lots of interesting comments.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/?lead=another-meteor-flashes-across-bay-area-skies
Whole lot of snap crackle and pop going down.
Good video of the Russian one,.....none of the US one,....hmm.
Russia Frisco Cuba
All within 24 hours of the 2012 DA14 flyby. One heck of a coincidence.
I’m wondering who that poor schlub ticked off so bad that he got stuck with “guard the ice hole” duty.
That’s what Obama’s secret service men ask each other.
“Why am I stuck guarding this ice hole?”
Sure is. In computing, when there's a fault and someone says, "didn't you just put a change in?" and you say, "It wasn't my change, my change didn't have anything to do with that." ... it was your change.
Years ago on the second floor of an apartment in Pasadena, we had the window open. The sonic boom from the shuttle pushed the curtains in twice.
Obama and his Muslim terrorist buddies need more time to do more destruction to the US before any such war begins. Obama would consider it bad luck for something to have started. Obama hasn't even started the race wars and killing of Americans that they have planned. And don't tell anybody he is a Muslim terrorist, he wants it to be a surprise.
Great satellite pictures.
| One of the impact sites. | Weather satellite Meteosat 10 has taken an image of the meteorite shortly after entering the atmosphere (© EUMETSAT) | Weather satellite Meteosat 10 has taken an image of the meteorite shortly after entering the atmosphere (© EUMETSAT) |
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Considering that most of the earth is ocean, what are the chances that events like these occur in the middle of the oceans and go unnoticed?
Very small considering all the satellites orbiting Earth looking for this type of event (Atmospheric/underground-water testing).
I thought of this but in this case didn’t they have to go back to the satellite images to find evidence for this event? As in go back and search after the fact?
70% :’) Maybe not unnoticed, but the crater is transitory.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2990520/posts?page=37#37
How would we know the difference? They've been at war with humanity for centuries.
Cool! Thanks.
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