SIBERIA METEORITE FLATTENS 40 SQ MILES

The Times ^ | 7 June 2003 | Robin Shepherd

[Mike Darancette]

IF IT had hit Central London, Britain would no longer have a capital city. The force of the meteorite that hit eastern Siberia last September destroyed 40 square miles of forest and caused earth tremors felt 60 miles away.

An expedition from Russia's Kosmopoisk institute has only recently reached the site in a remote area north of Lake Baikal because of bad weather and difficult terrain, the Interfax news agency said yesterday.

Fragments of the meteorite had apparently exploded into shrapnel 18 miles above the Earth with the force of at least 200 tonnes of TNT.

At the time, Russian media reported that villagers 60 miles away had witnessed a gigantic fireball screeching down from the sky, causing windows to rattle and house lights to swing as they were hit by blast waves on September 25. There were no reported casualties.

Copyright 2003, The Times

[Mike Darancette]

Or it could've hit Paris.

Though 200 of TNT Tons seems a little light.

[Mike Darancette]

tons Of TNT

[Notforprophet]

Like a mini Tunguska, cool.

[Rebel_Ace]

You know, all kidding aside, it is amazingly lucky that the thing didn't come down over a more populated area. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[RightWhale]

.2 kilotons is way small for a city buster.

[tet68]

Last September and they only know reached it?

It wouldn't be like that here, by now there would already be a burger joint shaped like a flying saucer on the spot,
and a trailer from the Area 51 society, Art Bell would be
broadcasting from the smoking hole, and Peta would be protesting the loss of some obscure animal.

[rmmcdaniell]

Anybody got before/after satellite pics?

[Doc On The Bay]

....."I Wouldn't Wish that on Anyone!"...

Come On!!-- Not Even "Mecca??"

Doc

[breakem]

...........and at least one reality TV show.

[LibKill]

What is it about Siberia that attracts these weird explosions? Is Siberia accursed?

[dogbyte12]

You know, all kidding aside, it is amazingly lucky that the thing didn't come down over a more populated area. I wouldn't wish that on anyone

Well, the earth is 70% water, so chances are these things will hit in the middle of an ocean. Then, most areas of land are unpopulated still believe it or not. Take the land mass of the North Pole, Northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia, the South Pole, etc...

Chances are good that these won't make direct hits on a populated area. But, there always is a chance, and somebody wins the lottery.

If this sucker hit downtown L.A. or hit about 2 miles off in the ocean in L.A. Harbor, we would still be talking about the damage. Direct hit of this thing in L.A. would make 9-11 look like a small death count in comparison.

[PoorMuttly]

Sorry.

Can I have my meterorite back now ?

[cardinal4]

and Peta would be protesting the loss of some obscure animal.

ROTFL!!!

[BlueNgold]

An apropos time to repeat my favorite one line post:
The sky is falling!

[Sam Cree]

"Is Siberia accursed?"

Sort of like a trailer park with a tornado?

[HardStarboard]

>>>....."I Wouldn't Wish that on Anyone!"... <<<

Not even on a Hillary book signing...?

[tet68]

Tunguska Survivor.
In which three members of the politbureau, an Italian
socialist weather forcaster, two brainless french bimbos
and vladimir the vodka salesman struggle to survive the
effects of the rain of meteorites.

Last week one member of the politbureau,and the Italian were incinerated, and the rather hairy french bimbo
was killed by mosquitos.

Who will fall next?

[breakem]

Not a bad idea to be voted out of Siberia.

[putupon]

SIBERIA METEORITE FLATTENS 40 SQ MILES, yadda yadda yadda

[Chi-townChief]

Didn't this happen in 1908? Worlds in Collision.

[Brett66]

Interesting, I wonder how big it was? It's probably small enough to have went undetected even if we knew where to look.

[Contra]

I thought if one of these things hit the earth it was supposed to end all life, you know, end the world, as supposedly happened in the dinosaur days. And if it hits an ocean the whole world is supposed to be flooded, you know, all that catastrophic stuff. Why didn't the world end from this one?

[John H K]

What is it about Siberia that attracts these weird explosions? Is Siberia accursed?

No, it's just $(_@#!@#!@ huge.

It's the largest land area under a specific name on Earth.

[Sam Cree]

There are much bigger ones out there.

[John H K]

I thought if one of these things hit the earth it was supposed to end all life, you know, end the world, as supposedly happened in the dinosaur days. And if it hits an ocean the whole world is supposed to be flooded, you know, all that catastrophic stuff. Why didn't the world end from this one?

The world didn't end because it wasn't very big.

[ladyinred]

I wanted to say what you said , but decided it wouldn't be nice, so I am glad you said it so I didn't have to! LOL

[Nathaniel Fischer]

And one of them has my name on it! I just know it! Help!

[Nathaniel Fischer]

/sarcasm

[Husker24]

Its been almost a year, and still no pics..............*sigh*

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

All your asteroid are belong to us!

[Mike Darancette]

I thought if one of these things hit the earth it was supposed to end all life...

Depends how big it is, the BFR that got the dinos was 6 miles across, this one may have been 50-100 feet. And besides it started to come apart 18 miles above the earth.

[blam]

".2 kilotons is way small for a city buster."

I remember this being reported, dang if I didn't forget all about it. 40 square miles, I wonder what kind of wave that would have made in the Gulf Of Mexico?

[Sam Cree]

Where'd you get the name?

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

the BFR that got the dinos

A few months ago, my seven year old said to me at bedtime "Dad, I think God used an asteroid to kill the dinasaurs to make room for the people." My wife and I thought it was a very profound statement for a youngster to make. It makes for a good story, eh? :)

MM

[blam]

The Dark Ages: Were They Darker Than We Imagined

[Lazamataz]

You know, all kidding aside, it is amazingly lucky that the thing didn't come down over a more populated area. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Would have been seen as terrorism.

[Mike Darancette]

"Dad, I think God used an asteroid to kill the dinasaurs to make room for the people."

That is profound and that is exactly the way it worked out.

[Russian Sage]

What is it about Siberia that attracts these weird explosions? Is Siberia accursed?

No, just very, very big.

[eno_]

Is Siberia accursed?

No, just big. Which means the oceans had to have been hit more often. Makes me wonder if some mysterious ship disappearances, and some "rogue waves" are not explainable by asteroid impacts.

[humblegunner]

Why didn't the world end from this one?

Because my truck isn't paid off. Duh.

[Exit148]

"----this one may have been 50-100 feet-----"

Can that size be detected, and if so ---why wasn't it news?

[ErnBatavia]

40 square miles, I wonder what kind of wave that would have made in the Gulf Of Mexico?

This old sot?

[Sentis]

The size of the meteorite can be inferred from the size of the explosion

[RightOnline]

"Then, most areas of land are unpopulated still believe it or not. Take the land mass of the North Pole, Northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia, the South Pole, etc..."

.....or even the US of A.

It never ceased to amaze me, during my days as a pilot, crisscrossing the country, how much wide open space there is in this country. The morons who complain about 'overpopulation' have apparently never bothered to fly a commercial airline and actually look out of the window.

We have a very, VERY large country, folks, and it is overwhelmingly un- or under-populated.

[RightWhale]

The 40 square miles of devastation is probably an overstatement. Damage over 40 square miles is possible, but devastation is not likely unless the forest caught fire.

[blam]

Evidence Of Tunguska-Type Impacts Over The Pacific Basin In 1178AD

[lawdude]

".2 kilotons is way small for a city buster."

The area mentioned is only about 6.2 miles square. Not very big! Not sure how that relates to Nagasaki area and size.

[Wilhelm Tell]

That is an interesting point. We know that a really big meterorite struck Siberia in 1908, and now this smaller one. How many meteorites big enough to destroy a city have struck the oceans in the past decades? Every once in a while a ship seems to vanish without a trace. Once in a great while a ship survives some huge, unexplained wave. Sooner or later a populated area will be struck -- this could start a war if it is mistaken for an attack (imagine what might happen if a meteorite struck India or Pakistan).

[blam]

"We have a very, VERY large country, folks, and it is overwhelmingly un- or under-populated."

I agree 100%

We could turn Texas into a 'bedroom like community' and all the world's 6 billion people could live there.

[Mike Darancette]

In year 1178 A.D., as related by Clube and Napier in their book The Cosmic Serpent, a strange event was observed to affect the Moon, which may be explained by a large impact on the hidden face, originating the Giordano Bruno crater.

In your "Dark Ages" post of yesterday it was suggested that there is a periodicity of 700-900 years to events that effect civilizations. Supposing that there was such an event at about 540 AD there seems to be no event following that time.

I submit that the Moon may have saved the Earth from an impact on or shortly after 1178 AD.