|
Related Article |
|
Over 500 injured as meteor shower hits Russia
An estimated 20,000 emergency response workers have been mobilised.
Background radiation levels reportedly remain unchanged. This was
confirmed both by emergencies officials, and by the national
nuclear agency, concerned
»
|
|
I |
|
|
Moscow:
A meteorite that entered Earth's atmosphere and slammed into
Russia's Urals in february had broken off from a large asteroid
and collided with another space body several million years ago, a
Russian scientist said.
"It was formed within an asteroid, separated from it, and then,
tens of millions of years ago, it suffered a collision, receiving
multiple cracks as a result," said Erik Galimov, director of the
Russian Academy of Sciences Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry
and Analytical Chemistry.
"It was because of the large number of cracks that it exploded so
powerfully."
The meteorite entered the atmosphere undetected by existing
space-monitoring systems and slammed into the Urals Feb 15,
causing a massive sonic boom that blew out windows and damaged
thousands of buildings around the city of Chelyabinsk, injuring
over 1,500 people.
NASA estimated the meteorite was roughly 15 metres in diameter
when it entered the atmosphere, travelling many times the speed of
sound, and exploded into a fireball brighter than the sun.
Russian scientists suggest that if the Chelyabinsk meteorite had
entered the atmosphere at a steeper trajectory, the consequences
would have been far worse.
|
Comments
|
Quick links