Chelyabinsk meteor
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Date | 15 February 2013 |
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Time | 09:20 YEKT (UTC+06:00) |
Location | |
Coordinates | 55°09′00″N 61°24′36″E / 55.150°N 61.410°E |
Also known as | KEF-2013 |
Cause | Meteor |
Non-fatal injuries | 1,200[1] |
Property damage | 3,000 damaged buildings, collapsed factory roof, shattered windows |
On 15 February 2013, a meteoroid entered Earth's atmosphere over the Russian Federation at approximately 09:20 YEKT (03:20 UTC), becoming a fireball.[2][3][4] Moving at a speed of 15 km/s to 18 km/s (34,000 mph to 40,000 mph),[5][6][7] the meteor passed over the southern Ural region and exploded over Chelyabinsk Oblast.[n 1] The object's air burst occurred at approximately 15 to 25 km (10 to 15 mi) above the ground.[2][9] The total energy released was equivalent to nearly 500 kilotons of TNT (2.1 PJ),[1][2][10] which would make it 20–30 times more powerful than the atomic bombs detonated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[1][2][10][11] The meteor was significantly smaller than objects that are tracked through current efforts by space object scientists, and was not detected before atmospheric entry.[12]
Approximately 1,491[13] people were reported injured, mainly by glass from windows shattered by the shock wave; two were reported in serious condition.[1] Up to 3,000 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged as a result of the explosion and impacts.[14][15] The meteor created a dazzling light, bright enough to cast shadows during broad daylight in Chelyabinsk and to be observed in Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Orenburg Oblast, Republic of Bashkortostan, and Kazakhstan.
The Chelyabinsk meteor is the largest object known to have entered the Earth's atmosphere since the 1908 Tunguska event, and the only such event known to have resulted in a large number of injuries.[16] The predicted close approach of the roughly 50 metre asteroid 2012 DA14 occurred about 15 hours later; Russian sources, the European Space Agency[17] and NASA[2] indicated the two events were unrelated because they had different trajectories.
Initial reports
Local residents witnessed extremely bright burning objects in the sky in Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Orenburg Oblasts, Republic of Bashkortostan and neighbouring regions in Kazakhstan.[18][19][20] Amateur videos showed a fireball streaking across the sky and a loud sonic boom shortly afterward.[21][22][23] The meteor event occurred at 09:20 Yekaterinburg time, several minutes after sunrise in Chelyabinsk, and minutes before sunrise in Yekaterinburg. At times the object seemed brighter than the rising sun,[24][25] and NASA later confirmed that the bolide was, indeed, brighter than the sun.[26] An image of the object was also taken shortly after it entered the atmosphere by the weather satellite Meteosat 9.[27] Witnesses in Chelyabinsk reported that the air of the city smelled like gunpowder.[27]
Technical details
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Chebarkul_meteorite_sample_on_lake_ice.jpg/220px-Chebarkul_meteorite_sample_on_lake_ice.jpg)
Object and entry
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Ekaterinburg_view_of_2013_meteor_event.jpg/220px-Ekaterinburg_view_of_2013_meteor_event.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Chelyabinsk_2013_meteoroid_trajectory.jpg/220px-Chelyabinsk_2013_meteoroid_trajectory.jpg)
According to the Russian Federal Space Agency, preliminary estimations of the object designated KEF-2013,[citation needed] classified as a meteor moving at about 30 km/s at a "low trajectory." According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the meteor entered the atmosphere at around 15 km/s.[6][7][27] The event radiant (the apparent position of origin of the meteor in the sky) from video recordings appears to have been above and to the left of the rising sun.[28]
Estimates of the size of the object currently range from a diameter of 17 m to a few metres.[2][29] The United States space agency NASA estimated the diameter of the bolide at about 17 m and its mass at about 10,000 tons.[30][31][32][33][34] NASA estimates the velocity at 17.9 km/s,[35] and its energy release equivalent to nearly 500 kilotons,[2] big enough to register as a seismic event.[36][37]
The Pattani Geographical Society said the passing of the meteor over Chelyabinsk caused three blasts of different power. The first explosion was the most powerful, and was preceded by a bright flash, which lasted about five seconds. Altitude estimates ranged from 70 – 30 km, with an explosive equivalent of roughly 500 kilotonnes of TNT (2,100 TJ),[n 2][38] and the hypocentre of the explosion was to the south of Chelyabinsk, in Emanzhelinsk and Yuzhnouralsk. The shock wave reached Chelyabinsk two minutes 57 seconds later.[39]
On 17 February 2013, small meteorite fragments were found near the rim of circular hole in the ice on Lake Chebarkul by scientists from the Urals Federal University. They are ordinary chondrite meteorites and contain 10% iron. Scientists intend to name the fragments the Chebarkul meteorite, a name that will be formally accepted upon publication in the Bulletin of the Meteoritical Society.[40]
Impact
Three potential impact sites were found, two in an area near Lake Chebarkul, and another some 80 kilometres farther to the northwest, near the town of Zlatoust and the border between Bashkiria and Chelyabinsk Oblast. One of the meteorite fragments that struck near Chebarkul left a crater with a diameter of 6 metres. A hole was found by a local fisherman on the surface of the frozen Chebarkul Lake, possibly the result of an impact,[27] but a team of six Russian Emergencies Ministry scuba divers examined the lake site and found no meteorite fragments.[41] In Kazakhstan, emergency officials said they were looking for two possible unidentified objects that may have landed in Aktobe Province, Kazakhstan, adjacent to the affected Russian regions.[42]
Damage and injuries
As of 15 February 2013[update], around 1,200[1] people requested medical attention in Chelyabinsk Oblast, including 159 children. Health officials said 112 people had been hospitalized, with two reported to be in what officials deemed serious condition. A 52 year old woman with a broken spine was flown to Moscow for treatment.[43] Most people were hurt by shattered glass.[1] After the blast, car alarms went off and mobile phone networks were interrupted.[44] Office buildings in Chelyabinsk were evacuated. Classes for all Chelyabinsk schools were cancelled, mainly due to broken windows.[27] At least 20 children were injured when the windows of a school and kindergarten burst at 09:22.[45]
Following the event, government officials in Chelyabinsk asked parents to take their children home from schools.[46] An interior ministry spokesman said that approximately 600 m² (24.5 x 24.5 m) of a roof at a zinc factory collapsed during the event.[47] Residents in Chelyabinsk whose windows were smashed were scrambling to cover the openings with anything available, as the temperature in Chelyabinsk and in the impact area was -15 °C.[29][48][49]
The Chelyabinsk Oblast Governor Mikhail Yurevich expressed that preserving the central heating system of the city is the primary goal of the authorities.[27] He estimated damage from the event at no less than 1 billion rubles[50] (approximately US$ 33 million). Chelyabinsk authorities said that the broken windows (but not balcony glazing) of apartment homes will be replaced at the state's expense.[51]
One of the buildings damaged in the blast was the Traktor Sport Palace, home arena of Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The arena will be closed for inspection, affecting various events scheduled in the arena, and possibly the postseason of the KHL.[52]
The Chelyabinsk meteor is thought to be the biggest meteor to hit Earth since the 1908 Tunguska event and the only known such event to result in a large number of injuries.[53][54]
Reactions
Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Russia, confirmed a meteor had struck Russia and said it proves the “entire planet” is vulnerable to meteors and a spaceguard system is needed to protect the planet from similar events in the future.[21][55] Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister, proposed that there should be an international program that would alert countries to “objects of an extraterrestrial origin”.[56]
Colonel General Nikolai Bogdanov, commander of the Central Military District, created task forces that were directed to the alleged impact areas to search for fragments of the meteor and to monitor the situation. Meteorites (fragments) measuring from 5 mm to 1 cm have been reported to have been found one kilometre from Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk region.[57]
Nationalist State Duma Vice-Chairman and former presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky, offered what the Washington Post described as his own conspiracy theory, that "Those were not meteorites, it was Americans testing their new weapons".[58]
Media coverage
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Flight of the Meteor through the Atmosphere | |
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Meteor Air Burst | |
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The Russian government put out a brief statement within an hour of the event.[59] Discussion on social media sites started almost immediately after the event, and heavy coverage by the international media had begun by the time the Associated Press put out a brief report with the Russian government's confirmation less than two hours after the event.[59][60] Less than 15 hours after the meteor impact, videos related to the event had been viewed millions of times.[61]
The number of victims of the meteor led Google to pull a Google Doodle on asteroid 2012 DA14 from their website,[62] even though the meteor and asteroid are unrelated.
Coincidental asteroid approach
Preliminary calculations showed the event was not related to the 15 February close approach of asteroid 2012 DA14 that subsequently passed the Earth at a distance of 27,700 km.[24][63] The Chelyabinsk meteor was moving from north to south, whereas the trajectory of the 2012 DA14 asteroid is from south to north.[63][64][65]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Orbit_of_2012_DA14_and_Chelyabinsk_meteor_2.jpg/220px-Orbit_of_2012_DA14_and_Chelyabinsk_meteor_2.jpg)
The meteor occurred 16 hours before the approach of asteroid 2012 DA14 to the Earth, which was the "closest ever predicted Earth approach" of an object its size.[66] Phil Plait said they were unlikely to be related because the objects were almost 500,000 kilometres apart and seemed to be travelling in different directions.[24] After an initial analysis of photographs from the site, scientists at the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory in Northern Finland concluded that the two trajectories were widely different.[67] Simon O'Toole of the Australian Astronomical Observatory also said it seemed unlikely. Leonid Elenin also agrees the meteor was unrelated.[68] Phil Bland of Curtin University said that he thought it less likely to be a coincidence.[69] Marco Langbroek (VU University Amsterdam) pointed out that it is impossible for fragments in similar orbits as 2012 DA14 to enter the atmosphere at a latitude as high as 55 degrees north: as seen from the approach direction of such fragments, 55 degrees north is located on the back side of Earth.[70] NASA also released a statement saying that 2012 DA14 and the meteor that exploded over Russia had "significantly different" trajectories and that the two were not related.[66]
Although asteroid 2012 DA14 was unrelated, scientists are still investigating other reports of meteors at around the same time.[71]
Video
- Large Meteorite falling over Chelyabinsk, Russia
- Meteorite flew over Chelyabinsk webcam
- The fall of the meteorite in Chelyabinsk 15.02.2013 webcam
- Collection of meteorite footage from various perspectives
Gallery
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The fall of the meteorite Chelyabinsk
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Ekaterinburg view of 2013 Russian meteor event
See also
- Hodges meteorite (1954)
- 1972 Great Daylight Fireball
- List of meteor air bursts
- Sikhote-Alin meteorite (1947)
- Spaceguard Foundation
- Torino Scale
Notes
- ^ The last time a similar phenomenon was observed in the Chelyabinsk region was the Kunashak meteor shower of 1949, after which scientists recovered about 20 stones weighing over 200 kg in total.[8]
- ^ According to the measurements from the other side of the city though, if the height of the blast is measured at about 30 km, the power of the explosion would range from 0.1 to 1 kiloton.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Meteorite hits Russian Urals: Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, up to 1,200 injured (PHOTOS, VIDEO). RT. 15 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Russian Meteor". NASA. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteor in central Russia injures at least 500". USA Today. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "100 injured by meteorite falls in Russian Urals". Mercury News. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Russia Meteor Not Linked to Asteroid Flyby". NASA. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ a b Major, Jason. "Meteor Blast Rocks Russia". Universe today. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ a b "500 injured by blasts as meteor falls in Russia". Yahoo News. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Grady, Monica M (31 August 2000). Catalogue of Meteorites. London: Natural History Museum, Cambridge University Press. pp. 285–. ISBN 978-0-521-66303-8. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ William Cooke. "Orbit of the Russian Meteor". Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ a b Russian meteorite blast explained: Fireball explosion equal to 20 Hiroshimas. RT. 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Russian meteor hit atmosphere with force of 30 Hiroshima bombs". The Telegraph. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Neil deGrasse Tyson: Radar could not detect meteor". Today. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Число пострадавших при падении метеорита приблизилось к 1500Template:Ru icon
- ^ Marson, James. "Meteorite Hits Russia, Causing Panic". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ Ewait, David. "Exploding Meteorite Injures A Thousand People in Russia". Forbes. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Brumfiel, Geoff Brumfiel. "Russian meteor largest in a century". Nature. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Russian Asteroid Strike". ESA.int. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Russia rocked by meteor explosion". The Verge. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Possible meteor shower reported in eastern Russia". Reuters. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Shurmina, Natalia; Kuzmin, Andrey. "Meteorite hits central Russia, more than 500 people hurt". Reuters. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ a b "PM Medvedev Says Russian Meteorite KEF-2013 Shows "Entire Planet" Vulnerable". Newsroom America. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Videos capture exploding meteor in sky (Television production). United States: CNN. 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteor shower over Russia sees meteorites hit Earth". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ a b c "Breaking: Huge Meteor Explodes Over Russia". Slate. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Possible Meteor Crash in Russia: Reports". Space. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Mackey, Robert; Mullany, Gerry. Spectacular Videos of Meteor Over Siberia, The New York Times, 15 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Meteorite hits Russian Urals: Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, over 900 injured (phots, video)". RT. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Chelyabinsk meteor Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array, 15 February 2013
- ^ a b "Notfälle – Astronomie: Asteroid "2012 DA14" hat Erde passiert". Munich, DE: Süddeutsche. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Russia Meteor Not Linked to Asteroid Flyby". 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteorite explodes over Russia, more than 1,000 injured". Reuters. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "'Panic' as 10-tonne meteor in Russia's Chelyabinsk region injures more than 500". Associated Press. The Montreal Gazette. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "PHOTOS: Russia Meteor Explosion Shatters Windows, Injures Hundreds". Time. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteor injures at least 1,200 in Russia". The Washington Post. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
{{cite news}}
:|first=
missing|last=
(help) - ^ William Cooke (15 February 2013). "Orbit of the Russian Meteor". NASA. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteor Explosion near Chelyabinsk, Russia". US Geological Survey. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Magnitude ? (Uncertain Or Not Yet Determined) – URAL MOUNTAINS REGION, RUSSIA". National Earthquake Information Center. U.S. Geological Survey. 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Ученый: полету метеорита над Челябинском сопутствовали три взрыва мощностью от 1 до 10 килотонн" (in Russian). RU: Gazeta. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Метеорит в Челябинске YouTube
- ^ "Russian Meteorite May Be Named Chebarkul". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "Divers Find No Trace of Meteorite in Urals Lake". RIA Novosti. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteorite Hits Central Russia, Hurting Hundreds". Moscow, RU: Ria novosti. 2013‐2‐15.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Meteorite hits Russian Urals, RT.com, 15 February 2013, http://rt.com/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/
- ^ "Meteorite explosion over Russia injures hundreds". The Guardian. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Bidder, Benjamin. "Meteoriten-Hagel in Russland: "Ein Knall, Splittern von Glas"" (in German). DE. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Campbell, Charlie. "Watch meteorite injures hundreds in Russia". Time. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Central Russia hit by meteor shower in Ural region". UK: BBC. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Past observations for weather in Chelyabinsk (9:30 am, 15 Feb 2013)
- ^ Past observations for weather in Miass (9:30 am, 15 Feb 2013)
- ^ "Ущерб от челябинского метеорита превысит миллиард рублей" (in Russian). Lenta.ru. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ http://cheladmin.ru/news/sergey-davydov-zhertv-i-sereznyh-razrusheniy-net
- ^ "KHL arena among buildings damaged in Russian meteorite strike". CBS Sports. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Asteroid impacts – How to avert Armageddon". The Economist. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Kenneth Chang (15 February 2013). "Size of Blast and Number of Injuries Are Seen as Rare for a Rock From Space". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "400 injured by meteorite falls in Russian Urals" (Document). Y net newsTemplate:Inconsistent citations
{{cite document}}
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ignored (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Amos, Howard (15 February 2013). "Meteorite explosion over Chelyabinsk injures hundreds". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Interfax. "В полынье в Чебаркульском районе Челябинской области, возможно, найдены обломки метеорита – МЧС". Interfax. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Russian parliament member says meteor was actually a U.S. weapons test, Washington Post, World Views online, Max Fisher, 15 February 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/02/15/russian-parliament-member-says-meteor-was-actually-a-u-s-weapons-test/
- ^ a b Franke-Ruta, Garance (15 February 2013). "How a D.C. Hockey Fan Site Got the Russian Meteorite Story Before the AP". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Federal Press World News. "Челябинский метеорит стал одной из самых популярных тем в мире". Federal Press. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Visible Measures. "Meteor Over Russia Hits Internet with 7.7 Million Video Views". Visible Measures. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Asteroid 2012 DA14 Google Doodle Removed After Russian Meteor Shower Injuries
- ^ a b "Уральский метеорит отвлек научный мир от знаменитого астероида" (in Russian). RU: РИА Новости. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Quinn, Ben and agencies (15 February 2013). "Asteroid misses Earth by 17,000 miles after meteor strikes Russia". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Meteor Causes Panic in Russia". Voice of America. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ a b Nasa. "Solarsystem, Asteroid 2012 DA14 – Earth Flyby Reality Check". Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Are 2012 DA14 and the Chelyabinsk meteor related?". FI: Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Elenin, Leonid (15 February 2013). "Siberian fireball". Space obs. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Creagh, Sunanda (15 February 2013). "Fireball explodes over Russia, 150 hurt". The Conversation. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Huge fireball over Russia this morning! Not 2012 DA14 related". SatTrackCam. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "Request for data – 11-Feb-2013 meteor event?". FI: Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- Attribution
- This article contains portions of text translated from the corresponding article of the Russian Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there in the History section.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Метеоритный удар по Челябинску = Collection of videos and photographs of the meteor and resulting damage. Chelyabinsk website
- Meteor hits Russian Urals: Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, up to 1200 injured (photographs, video)
- Meteor vapour trail from space, image captured by EUMETSAT satellite.
- Amateur videos:
- вспышка над Челябинском Shows the meteor's initial entry into the atmosphere.
- видео вспышки над челябинском 15.02.2013.avi Captures almost the complete path of the meteor.
- В челябинске упал самолет или метеорит, смотреть с 0:40 The light given off by the meteor blinds a camera.
- Взрыв Челябинск Shows the force of the shockwave that caused most of the injuries.
- Russia Meteor Not Linked to Asteroid Flyby – NASA