Big Chelyabink Meteorite Fragment to Be Lifted Soon

RIA Novosti ^ | 25 Sep 2013 | RIA Novosti

[rjbemsha]

YEKATERINBURG, September 25 (RIA Novosti) – While removing silt in an effort to fish out a huge chunk of meteorite from the bottom of a lake in Russia’s Urals, divers recovered a smaller meteorite on Tuesday, scientists said.

“A meteorite chunk roughly the size of a human fist has been lifted from the depth of 13 meters [43 feet] in Lake Chebarkul,” the Urals Federal University said in a statement.

According to scientists, the [remaining] huge chunk, weighting hundreds of metric tons, is buried under a 2.5-meter (8.2-foot) layer of silt. Scientists expect to remove the silt around it on Wednesday evening.

[rjbemsha]

The tiny chunk

The celestial body, later named the Chelyabinsk meteorite, exploded above the city on February, 15, leaving about 1,500 injured, mostly due to glass shattered by the shockwave. Scientists said the space rock was a typical chondrite (non-metallic meteorite).

[The Antiyuppie]

If they actually find it, that will be a very valuable chunk of rock. Meteor fragments, particularly those observed to fall and are documented, bring big bucks. Too bad it wasn’t iron. Expect “fakes”, though.

[Jack Hammer]

So... this isn’t at all related to whatever exploded above Siberia back in the early years of last century...?

[JimRed]

So... this isn’t at all related to whatever exploded above Siberia back in the early years of last century...?

The Tunguska event...I don't think they've found any fragments of that one. It might have been an icy one of a much larger size. It had the effect of a small nuke, minus the radiation. Fortunately the area over which it exploded was unpopulated.

[Jack Hammer]

Yes, that’s it - you’ve got it... Tunguska. Quite an event, from what little I’ve read.