NDONESIAN ASTEROID: A 10-meter wide asteroid hits Earth

http://spaceweather.com/ ^ | October 28, 2009 | spaceweather.com

[Calamari]

INDONESIAN ASTEROID: Picture this: A 10-meter wide asteroid hits Earth and explodes in the atmosphere with the energy of a small atomic bomb. Frightened by thunderous sounds and shaking walls, people rush out of their homes, thinking that an earthquake is in progress. All they see is a twisting trail of debris in the mid-day sky:

This really happened on Oct. 8th around 11 am local time in the coastal town of Bone, Indonesia. The Earth-shaking blast received remarkably little coverage in Western press, but meteor scientists have given it their full attention. "The explosion triggered infrasound sensors of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) more than 10,000 km away," report researchers Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown of the Univ. of Western Ontario in an Oct. 19th press release. Their analysis of the infrasound data revealed an explosion at coordinates 4.5S, 120E (close to Bone) with a yield of about 50 kton of TNT. That's two to three times more powerful than World War II-era atomic bombs.

The asteroid that caused the blast was not known before it hit and took astronomers completely by surprise. According to statistical studies of the near-Earth asteroid population, such objects are expected to collide with Earth on average every 2 to 12 years. "Follow-on observations from other instruments or ground recovery efforts would be very valuable in further refining this unique event," say Silber and Brown.

[Calamari]

Haven't seen this any place else.

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[DirtyHarryY2K]

Picture this: A 10-meter wide asteroid hits Earth and explodes in the atmosphere with the energy of a small atomic bomb.

That would be a site to see!

[Calamari]

my first bttt

[Calamari]

there is aome footage at the web site —worth a look.

[TheThirdRuffian]

[TheThirdRuffian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs&videos=jkRJgbXY-90

[RaceBannon]

Isn’t this the hoax everyone was talking about?

[AnotherUnixGeek]

The asteroid that caused the blast was not known before it hit and took astronomers completely by surprise. According to statistical studies of the near-Earth asteroid population, such objects are expected to collide with Earth on average every 2 to 12 years.

This worries me a great deal more than global warming. Asteroid strikes have caused extinction-level events before in Earth's history. We have the technology to at least track potential threats, but as this article indicates, we aren't doing a complete job of it.

[Calamari]

I don’t think so. Space Weather.com is a pretty reputable web site and it is on their current- today’s- web page.

[kidd]

So a 50 kton explosion occurs on Earth every 2-12 years. Every 7 years on average.

90% of humans live on 10% of the land, which is 30% of the Earth. Every 7 years, there’s a 3% chance one of these are going to strike a large population of people. Thus, odds are that one will strike a large population once every 233 years.

[HKMk23]

The asteroid that caused the blast was not known before it hit and took astronomers completely by surprise.

THAT is MOST disconcerting.

[randomhero97]

ping

[Paine in the Neck]

Opposite side of the planet. The hoax meteor was in Latvia.

[GingisK]

Raise 100, fire for affect.

[null and void]

...at coordinates 4.5S, 120E (close to Bone)

Bad to the Bone?

[Calamari]

This worries me a great deal more than global warming. Asteroid strikes have caused extinction-level events before in Earth's history. We have the technology to at least track potential threats, but as this article indicates, we aren't doing a complete job of it.

The pols haven't thought up a way to tax us or restrict freedoms based on a big rock heading our way from outer space.

Global warming climate change carbon footprint are so much more useful terms for separating us from freedoms and money than stating a big rock is coming and we can't do anything about it. Give them time and they will figure out a marketing strategy complete with buzz words.

[johniegrad]

The exploding Bone.

[johniegrad]

Bad to the Bone?

The 'roid blew its wad at bone.

[ConservativeMan55]

LOL