A sizeable asteroid meteor exploded over Russia the other day which , while it did n’t make any damage , did serve as a timely reminder about pesky space rocks come our way .
The meteor was see overseveral Russian citiesincluding Lipetsk , due south - east of Moscow , and others such as Kursk and Voronzeh in the early hours of Thursday June 21 . It ’s thought that it measured about 4 meters ( 13 animal foot ) across , with some witnesses reporting a transonic thunder .
Video footage manage to capture the meteor , with it lighten dramatically as it cauterise up in the atmosphere . Footage from a weather satellite also finagle to capture the instant from outer space .
NASA alsotracked the meteor , heel it as a ball of fire consequence , which are exceptionally bright meteor that can be seen over a wide country . They read that it exploded at an ALT of about 27.2 kilometer ( 16.9 mi ) , and was traveling at a speed of 14.4 kilometers ( 9 miles ) per second .
According to NASA , it explode with an impact vigor of about 2.8 kiloton , making it the most powerful asteroid since March 2017 . TheInternational Meteor Organization , however , said the explosion may have been more or less more hefty at around 3.2 kilotons .
Russia , being the largest land , gets quite a few meteoroid compare to elsewhere . This includes the famous2013 Chelyabinsk meteor , which injured C when it exploded . It was thought to be a bit adult than this recent one , about 20 meters ( 65 invertebrate foot ) across .
Just last hebdomad we had another meteor make the news , for different reasons though – as it illumine up aFoo Fighters spear . That meteor seem gullible , in all likelihood due to its chemical composition .
Both meteors were not tracked before they figure the atmosphere , a well-timed reminder that we do n’t know about all debris entering our atmosphere . A recentreportfrom NASA allege the agency would step up its attempts to both prevent dangerous asteroids hitting Earth , and groom for the aftermath if they do .
You probably do n’t demand remind that an asteroid wipe out the dinosaur . If such a large asteroid were heading our fashion , we ’d want to know quite a few class in advance so that we could try and deflect it , such as by nudging out of the room ornuking it .
This Saturday , June 30 , is Asteroid Day , an event around the man that seeks to raise awareness about asteroids . One day a stone might have our name on it , and if it does , we ’ll want to be ready .
