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Explanation: A meteoroid fell to Earth on February 15, streaking some 20 to 30 kilometers above the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia at 9:20am local time. Initially traveling at about 20 kilometers per second, its explosive deceleration after impact with the lower atmosphere created a flash brighter than the Sun. This picture of the brilliant bolide (and others of its persistent trail) was captured by photographer Marat Ametvaleev, surprised during his morning sunrise session creating panoramic images of the nearby frosty landscape. An estimated 500 kilotons of energy was released by the explosion of the 17 meter wide space rock with...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A streak of light that apparently sparked several reports across Southern California was not considered to be a public threat, according to fire officials. Over 40 reports from eyewitnesses around the Southland and statewide reported the sight to the American Meteor Society (AMS) around approximately 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night. Residents from cities as far north as Sacramento, Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara and as far south as Malibu and Costa Mesa reported a “brief tail of light” – described as everything from blue to white to bright green in color – traveling in a east-southeast...

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...

At a news conference Friday, NASA scientists said the object that exploded over Russia was a “tiny asteroid” that measured roughly 45 feet across, weighed about 10,000 tons and traveled about 40,000 mph. The object vaporized roughly 15 miles above the surface of the Earth, causing a shock wave that triggered the global network of listening devices that was established to detect nuclear test explosions. The force of the explosion measured between 300 and 500 kilotons, equivalent to a modern nuclear bomb, according to Bill Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,...

Jodi Hernandez reports on the cosmic close encounter that the earth is experiencing tonight and the real one Russia experienced this morning. On a day that had a lot of people talking about meteorites and asteroids, a fireball of some sort was seen streaking across the Bay Area skies. The fireball was seen around 7:45 p.m. There are reports into the newsroom from people as far north as Fairfield and as far south as Gilroy. It was also seen in Sacramento, Newark, Walnut Creek, and St. Helena. It was bluish in color and appeared to be heading straight to the...

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Pretty spectacular — and a little frightening, one might imagine, if one of these streaked across your field of vision.  Russia Today’s English-language service reports on the phenomenon observed over the last several hours, which also shattered windows in the Urals region as the meteor exploded in the atmosphere (via The Corner):

Moscow (CNN) -- A meteor streaked through the skies above Russia's Urals region Friday morning, before exploding with a flash and boom that shattered glass in buildings and left about 1,000 people hurt The number of injured has continued to rise through the day as new reports come in from across a swath of central Russia. Most of those hurt are in the Chelyabinsk region, the news agency said. The vast majority of injuries are not thought to be serious. About 3,000 buildings have sustained damage -- mostly broken glass -- as a result of the shock waves caused by...

An asteroid measuring up to 20km across hit South Australia up to 360 million years ago and left behind the one of the largest asteroid impact zones on Earth, according to new research published today. The impact zone in the East Warburton Basin was buried under nearly four kilometres of earth, said Dr Andrew Glikson, a visiting fellow to the Australian National University's Planetary Science Institute and a co-author of the paper. "It's significant because it's so large. It's the third largest impact terrain anywhere on Earth found to date," Dr Glikson said. "It's likely to be part of a...

The meteor explosion over Russia that injured more than 500 people and damaged hundreds of buildings was not caused by an asteroid zooming close by the Earth today (Feb.15), a NASA scientist says.

Russia's controversial Liberal leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has blamed Americans for today's meteorite scare, local media report. "Those were not meteorites, it was Americans testing their new weapons," Mr. Zhirinovsky confessed to journalists. "[US Secretary of State] John Kerry wanted to warn [Russia's Foreign Minister] Lavrov on Monday, he was looking for Lavrov, and Lavrov was on a trip. He meant to warn Lavrov about a provocation against Russia," he said.

A 10-ton meteor exploded in the sky above Russia on Friday, causing a shockwave that blew out windows injuring some 400 people and sending fragments falling to the ground in the Ural Mountains.

ATTN MODERATOR: This article is NOT copied, but authored 100% by myself (and x-posted at Reaganite Republican) with the exception of one small quote from Russia Today near the bottom (duly noted and linked) All orginal Russian info/data sources noted and linked at the bottom, as always... _________________________________________________________ Some pretty serious damage was delivered upon six Russian towns -and hundreds injured- when a hefty meteorite streaked across the sky, approached the Earth's surface in Chelyabisk Oblast (region) of the southern Ural Mountains near the border with Kazakhstan, then exploded early this morning, cca 9:30-10AM local time. Fragments fell and windows shattered as many...

A series of explosions in the skies of Russia’s Urals region, reportedly caused by a meteorite shower, has sparked panic in three major cities. Witnesses said that houses shuddered, windows were blown out and cellphones have stopped working. According to unconfirmed reports, the meteorite was intercepted by an air defense unit at the Urzhumka settlement near Chelyabinsk. A missile salvo reportedly blew the meteorite to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers.

ART CASHIN: Forget The Debt Ceiling — Traders Are Buzzing About The Gigantic Asteroid Barreling Towards Earth Sam RoJan. 8, 2013, 8:46 AMWith no major economic, earnings, or political news, yesterday turned into one of the most boring trading days in a very long time. According to UBS's Art Cashin, this gave the New York Stock Exchange floor traders time to chat about various things. One of those things: the gigantic asteroid heading toward earth. From this morning's Cashin's Comments: And You Thought The Debt Ceiling Was All You Had To Worry About – Trading was slow enough yesterday that...

(10-18) 15:07 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A bright flash across the sky and a shaking boom awed Bay Area onlookers Wednesday evening, and one scientist says souvenirs of the phenomenon might be strewn in the hills around Martinez. A meteor, perhaps the size of a small car when it hit the Earth's atmosphere, put on a spectacular lightshow at 7:45 p.m. that was visible throughout the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern and Central California. The accompanying noise was the meteor's sonic boom as it traveled faster than the speed of sound, said Jonathan Braidman, an astronomy instructor at Oakland's...

On Monday, Jupiter took a massive hit from a meteor, which was spotted by amateur astronomers based in the US—and if previous evidence is anything to go by, it could have saved Earth from a massive collision in the process. Dan Peterson of Racine, Wisconsin, was gazing at Jupiter on Monday when he saw a bright, white flash on the surface of the planet. When he posted his observation online, another astrophotographer, George Hall, discovered he'd unknowingly captured the massive explosion on video. Turns out it was probably a meteor striking the surface of the planet—and you can watch the...

LOTUS (CBS13) – People from all over the world are in the tiny town of Lotus in El Dorado County looking for something that’s out of this world, but leave it to a stay-at-home mom walking her dog to find a precious meteorite. The rock Brenda Salveson found is 17 grams, equal to just over a tablespoon of sugar. But when it comes in the form of an asteroid, its weight has no boundaries. “I was lucky, blessed, good karma,” Brenda said. “It was sitting there at my toes like an Easter egg.” An egg? More like a diamond in...

Speaking to SpaceWeather.com, Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s MEO office says, “The energy is estimated at a whopping 3.8 kilotons of TNT, so this was a big event,” he continues. “I am not saying there was a 3.8 kiloton explosion on the ground in California. I am saying that the meteor possessed this amount of energy before it broke apart in the atmosphere. [The map] shows the location of the atmospheric breakup, not impact with the ground.” The event that rattled windows, set off car alarms and glaringly bright enough to be seen in early morning daylight was also recorded...