So close to being dinosaurs!

[Jamie D]

Meteorite hits Russia

http://rt.com/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/

Airblast at about 38,000 feet.  Play the embedded video.

[Cindy]

It's the North Koreans I tell you.

Oh no that's wrong, it was the Iranians with their new fighter plane piloted by the monkey astronaut.

[Jamie D]

Much of the video originates from the west Siberian city of Chelyabinsk, with a population of over 1,000,000.

Claims that Russian air defenses shot the meteor down are pure fantasy.  A fireball of this size was probably traveling 20 to 25 kilometers per second, or roughly 50,000 mile per hour, as it ablated.  (If I did my conversion correctly)

[Jamie D]

It is now reported that the meteor which caused this fireball, and subsequent shockwave, may only have been a meter in diameter.

[Cindy]

  I thought it may be the superaircraft




Iran's 'laughable' fighter jet caught out in Photoshop blunder

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/irans-laughable-fighter-jet-caught-out-in-photoshop-blunder-20130213-2ebwb.html#ixzz2KxiChCMV

[justmeinoz]

Damn. Missed the only Tunguska event likely for ages.

[FTMDiaries]

The various videos of the meteorite are astonishing. Especially when you see and hear the damage caused by the explosion.

Most of the Russians in the videos seemed surprisingly calm. If it happened where I am, I'm pretty sure there would there have been a mass panic about a terrorist attack.

(Mind you, we have been attacked by terrorists in recent years so that's probably quite reasonable).

[jojoglowe]

[Bexi]

BBC News Website Flicker -

3rd story - Meteor strike injures hundreds in central Russia

4th story - Cottage pie that was delivered to schools in Lancashire has tested positive for horse DNA, BBC understands

Priorities!

[geek]

I'm actually terrified of dinosaurs, so the title scared the crap out of me, good to see it was just the meteors lol, I'd rather be dead than have dinosaurs roaming! Yes I can't read :p

[crazy at the coast]

Just seeing the title with your name on it, Jamie, made me think you were going to be talking about your age. 

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

I got it!  I got it.

[Jamie D]

Just seeing the title with your name on it, Jamie, made me think you were going to be talking about your age. 

That's why I love you so much!  Always thinking of others. 

So when I read another news item this morning, which reported the meteor might have been "as big a bus," who do you think I immediately thought of??   

[Brooke777]

Just seeing the title with your name on it, Jamie, made me think you were going to be talking about your age. 

This is exactly what I though!! 

[crazy at the coast]

That's why I love you so much!  Always thinking of others. 

So when I read another news item this morning, which reported the meteor might have been "as big a bus," who do you think I immediately thought of??   

Hey, I am not that fat!  Just a little fluffy in the middle.

[Devlyn]

They still make canned dinosaur!

[Joelene9]

All,

  Hours ago a meteor streaked in the central Ural region in Russia.  This has caused damage to buildings, shattering of glass and injuries from the concussion of the sonic booms.  A 6 meter hole in the ice of one of the lakes was found.  Here's a video with the sounds of the booms, shattering glass and car alarms.

  Joelene

[bethany]

I saw this on the morning news.  They said it was the size of a bus and weighed 10 tons. Thank God that it did not directly impact the earth.

[Shang]

A meteorite that reportedly injured thousands was caught on video.**  The meteorite is visible as it soars over Russian and it's explosion was caught on videos.  The shock wave from the explosion reportedly shattered windows and even collapsed a roof, the broken glass being the primary culprit in how people were injured.

Relevant links:

- Meteor Explodes Over Central Russia, over 1000 Injured
- Russia Meteor Blast Was Nuclear -- Like in its Intensity
- Report:  Russian Meteor Blast Injures at Least 1000 People

** This link is a news report featuring video of the meteor.  The sound of the the meteor exploding and the sound of broken glass is easily heard in the video shown.
__________________________________

My thoughts:

I first read about this and my jaw dropped.  I find this incredibly fascinating and it's incredibly lucky that people filmed this meteor soaring through the sky.  It's incredibly humbling to know that just an explosion from it created such a shock wave.  What if it had hit?  How bad would the damage have been?  From the learner in me, I love this event and I wish I had been there to see it.

Don't get me wrong, it sucks that people were hurt from the falling glass and repercussions, but scientifically and just from a human stand point, this is awe-inspiring and I find the event fascinating.

[Joelene9]

  There were two large meteor impacts in the 20Th century, both of them in Siberia.  The Tunguska Event over the Tunguska river in 1908.  This one completely blew up and vaporized about 4 miles up and yielded 10+ megatons of TNT, equivalent of a hydrogen bomb.  That flattened about 830 square miles of trees in a remote area.  This area was so remote and was at the end of the Romanov rule, WWI, and the beginning of the Soviet rule that it took until 1927 before an expedition to the area be commissioned. 
  The Sikhote-Alin meteor fall occurred over the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Eastern Siberia in 1947.  That one may be lighter in explosive yield than this recent one, but there was a large strewn field of iron meteorites from the Sikhote-Alin fall.  An iron-nickel meteor is more likely to strike the ground.  Meteor Crater, AZ is one of them. 

  Joelene