Ural region in Russia hit by meteor shower!

[Buzz]

The aliens have landed! And the government is covering it up! Sorry.... Always wanted to say that. hehehe


Fascinating read but I wish I could see a video of the event. Apparent some people were hurt by broken glass but thankfully not seriously. Where is FarFarAway when you need him. LOL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116

[nlloyd]

There's this link for videos and photos: http://zyalt.livejournal.com/722930.html?nojs=1

[Cyn]

CNN Report/Article from Moscow Bureau (includes video of meteor)

According to reports in the media, "hundreds" of people were injured (CNN reporting 247 confirmed injuries; unconfirmed number of injuries being reported as high as 500). Most of the injuries were caused by the sonic boom from when the meteorite entered the atmosphere and exploded, shattering glass walls, windows, doors, etc.

[orbitz]

^^^ I too saw the story this morning about people in Russia being injured by the meteor streaking across the sky. That is scary if this turns out to be true. If the meteorite had impacted a city on earth directly, which one will one day, it would've been a disaster.

[peibeck]

I saw something on the news a few weeks ago about a large meteor that was due to pass by the Earth, but which astronomers were certain would not have any impact. One has to wonder if this was it, or a remnant travelling with that asteroid?

Having seen those photos of the meteor which flattened that area in Siberia, we know it could have been much worse. If it had impacted over water it would have probably created at least some type of tsunami event.

[Cyn]

I saw something on the news a few weeks ago about a large meteor that was due to pass by the Earth, but which astronomers were certain would not have any impact. One has to wonder if this was it, or a remnant travelling with that asteroid?

An asteroid (named "2012 DA14") will cruise by us today; there will be a distance of at least 17,100 miles between it and Earth and poses no threat. When the meteor hit in Russia, a lot of people were concerned that it was related to the asteroid, but those in the know have stated that the two are completely unrelated.

Still, it's kind of . Over the years, I've seen just enough of that god-awful movie, Armageddon, on TV to make me uneasy whenever a meteor or asteroid pops up in the news.

[BigB08822]

Crazy! The timing probably had people thinking that the asteroid hit earth. I would have panicked!

[Cyn]

CNN is now reporting that the number of injured/seeking medical treatment has risen to 725 .

[equatorial]

CNN is now reporting that the number of injured/seeking medical treatment has risen to 725 .

Those are mostly with cuts/bruises. Very few have been hospitalized so far, thank God.

[peibeck]

An asteroid (named "2012 DA14") will cruise by us today; there will be a distance of at least 17,100 miles between it and Earth and poses no threat. When the meteor hit in Russia, a lot of people were concerned that it was related to the asteroid, but those in the know have stated that the two are completely unrelated.

Somehow I find that against the odds; that is why I speculated that today's impact could have been from a remnant of something travelling with the larger asteroid. Although I am certainly no astrophysicist, so I should probably not be voicing my doubts.

[Sofia Alexandra]

Here's a compilation of footage, mostly from those dash cams that the Russians are so fond of.

The really scary thing about this meteorite is that there was no warning; no one knew it was coming before people on the ground could see it for themselves. To paraphrase Armageddon, it's a big damn sky. There are many people and institutions dedicated to watching it, but even a relatively small object can cause a lot of damage, as we saw today, and finding those are like finding a miniscule mite wandering through a football field covered in dust. Or so I imagine.

That said, I really hope there are no casualties, 'cos mostly I think things like this are pretty awesome. Anyone who gets a scar out of this has the ultimate bragging rights, in my book.

[duane]

Sad that people got hurt, but what an amazing thing to see!

[skatingfan5]

Somehow I find that against the odds; that is why I speculated that today's impact could have been from a remnant of something travelling with the larger asteroid. Although I am certainly no astrophysicist, so I should probably not be voicing my doubts.

According to the reports I heard on NPR this morning, the meteorite that hit Russia had a completely different trajectory than what could be related to the asteroid. It seems that it was just an extremely unlikely coincidence.

[Cachoo]

The Russians are oh so lucky as that was the size of a house and could have killed a lot of folks. Amazing footage!

[FarFarAway]

The aliens have landed! And the government is covering it up! Sorry.... Always wanted to say that. hehehe


Fascinating read but I wish I could see a video of the event. Apparent some people were hurt by broken glass but thankfully not seriously. Where is FarFarAway when you need him. LOL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116

FarFarAway is down with the flu and terrible fever since last Friday

The news actually made me get out of bed and spend some nervous hours trying to contact my mother on my mobile, since she lives in Chelyabinsk and just about 5-6 km away from the epicenter of the most powerful explosion.

It turned out that the apartment we bought 13 years ago was the right choice - all the windows are facing opposite to the explosion side, so she just heard a very loud 'boom' and saw a bright light while she was doing some aerobics and that's it. She didn't even turn on the TV and heard about the meteor from me.

I have a lot of friends there, since I grew up and went to school and university in Chelyabinsk, all of them are okay luckily, but the damage is quite strong - shattered windows and interiors of the buildings and quite a lot of injured people due to this.

My dad was very lucky to fly away to Germany to work at a university in Dusseldorf area a week ago, since his apartment is in the very epicenter if another explosion. But it is almost in the park area, so I bet trees saved it.

[FarFarAway]

Crazy! The timing probably had people thinking that the asteroid hit earth. I would have panicked!

No, this is Russian Post with late delivery again. It was supposed to be delivered in late December 2012

PS Can anyone tell me if anyone at CNN attended geography lessons at all? Chelyabinsk is nowhere near Southern Russia. Southern Russia is Sochi, which is 5 hours flight southwest from Chelyabinsk. Chelyabinsk is in South Urals.

[skatingfan5]

^FarFarAway -- Glad that your family and friends are all OK. When you say "explosion" are you referring to an actual meteorite fragment hit -- or the sonic boom? I'm thinking you might mean an actual hit, because you talk about epicenters. It must have been very frightening for those who were nearest to that.

[peibeck]

According to the reports I heard on NPR this morning, the meteorite that hit Russia had a completely different trajectory than what could be related to the asteroid. It seems that it was just an extremely unlikely coincidence.

Wow, that makes it even more freaky.

No, this is Russian Post with late delivery again. It was supposed to be delivered in late December 2012

PS Can anyone tell me if anyone at CNN attended geography lessons at all? Chelyabinsk is nowhere near Southern Russia. Southern Russia is Sochi, which is 5 hours flight southwest from Chelyabinsk. Chelyabinsk is in South Urals.

I guess because they consider Chelyabinsk near the Kazahkstan border it must be "southern."

Glad your family and school mates are fine though.

I can't believe the videos of those people driving and catching sight of the meteor not even slowing down!

[FarFarAway]

^FarFarAway -- Glad that your family and friends are all OK. When you say "explosion" are you referring to an actual meteorite fragment hit -- or the sonic boom? I'm thinking you might mean an actual hit, because you talk about epicenters. It must have been very frightening for those who were nearest to that.

As I understood from what I have been told today - some meteor parts exploded above the ground and some hit the earth. So by epicenter I just mean the point either on the ground or above it where the explosion/hit happened. The one which was close to my mom's apartment was definitely a hit, since there was a fire and a damage was quite severe.

[FarFarAway]

I can't believe the videos of those people driving and catching sight of the meteor not even slowing down!

Well, I believe they didn't think it was so dangerous as it turned out. No one was even warned, I wonder what were astronomers worldwide doing?