A photo from open sources
On Friday afternoon, NASA scientists reported that the space object was 15 meters in diameter and caused an explosion with a capacity of 300 kilotons per TNT equivalent. A little later, the energy power of the explosion was increased to 470 kilotons.
A photo from open sources
However, late on Friday night, NASA revised its assessment. The size of the meteorite was increased to 17 meters in diameter, and explosion force – up to 500 kilotons, the official statement says departments.
The meteorite was also significantly more massive than thought earlier. Initially, its mass was estimated at 7,000 tons. But now scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, state California, they say that a meteorite weighed about 10,000 tons and at the time the explosion had a speed of 64,373 km / h.
“These new estimates were made based on new data, received from five additional infrasound stations, located all over the world. One of them is located in Alaska, in More than 6,500 kilometers from Chelyabinsk, the scientists explained. – Infrasound stations detect low-frequency sound waves, that accompany the meteorite explosion. ”
A meteorite entered the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded over Chelyabinsk in 3:20:26 GMT on February 15. Standing out at the time of the explosion radiant energy eclipsed the sun. Curious that rare astronomical event happened a few hours before the flight the larger asteroid 2012 DA14 with a diameter of 45 meters.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 passed at a distance of 27,000 km from Earth in Friday, without threatening the planet. Span of an asteroid and the explosion of the Chelyabinsk meteorite is absolutely not connected, NASA reports because their trajectories were completely different.
Also, late on Friday night, another ball of fire was spotted over san francisco in california. This event is also random coincidence. Scientists call the Chelyabinsk meteorite extremely a rare occurrence. Nothing like this happened in the sky over Russia since 1908, when an even larger one exploded over Tunguska car.
“We believe that events of this magnitude occur on average every 100 years, said Paul Chodas, program manager for the Middle space NASA. – If you have a fireball of this size, then a large number of fragments can be expected, including enough large ones that have reached the surface of the earth. ”
A photo from open sources
The thermal shock of the Chelyabinsk meteorite recorded Satellite Metosat-9 at 03:15 GMT on February 15, 2013 © NASA | Space.com
Fragments of a meteorite were discovered in the area of Lake Chebarkul
A photo from open sources
Fragment of a meteorite. © Chelyabinsk region Interior Ministry |Reuters
February 18, 2013. According to RIA Novosti, scientists exploring the meteorite fall area on Lake Chebarkul in Chelyabinsk region, found fragments of a celestial body. Specialists collected 53 fragments of black solid about 1 cm in size.
Later, the samples were submitted for examination. Chemical analysis held in the laboratory of the Ural Federal scientific and educational center “Nanotech”. According to Victor Grokhovsky, member of the RAS committee on meteorites, chemical analyzes confirmed the extraterrestrial nature of the studied debris. At this stage of the research, the composition revealed: metallic iron (more than 8%), olivine, sulfite.
Later, to register a new meteorite in the international catalog more detailed studies of the chemical composition will be carried out. However, the name of the cosmic body has already been decided. They will call him in honor of the lake, in the area of which fragments were found, – Chebarkul.
Meteor or meteorite
February 18, 2013. Meteor is atmospheric phenomenon in the form of a luminous wake due to falling into the Earth’s atmosphere of a meteoroid weighing a fraction of a gram up to several tons. When entering dense layers of the atmosphere on at an altitude of 80–150 km due to friction, the surface of meteor bodies heats up, and they begin to glow. The highest brightness meteors reach at an altitude of 50-60 km. Then they evaporate and spray. Shooting Star is a classic example of a meteor. When meteors a lot of the phenomenon is called “meteor shower.”
A meteorite is the largest meteoroid. with the lowest initial fall rate reaching the surface the planet. Meteorites are divided into iron, stone and iron-stone. Very rarely, large meteorites reach the Earth weighing hundreds and thousands of tons, the impact of which is accompanied by a powerful explosion (Tunguska meteorite, Sikhote-Alin meteorite).
Consider the main differences between a meteor and a meteor: 1. Meteor – it is a light phenomenon in the atmosphere, a meteorite is a solid cosmic body. 2. Meteors are formed due to the smallest particles burning in dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. Meteorites reach the Earth. 3.Meteors are a frequent occurrence; meteorites rarely fall.
In this case, a cross was observed between the meteor and a meteorite. In astronomy, this phenomenon is called a car.
A car is a very large and bright meteor, for a long time preserving an integral structure in the Earth’s atmosphere and whose flight accompanied by a bright glow and sound. Especially large and very bright car is called superbolid.
Expert Opinion:
“It was a car – a large celestial body, in fact, a large meteor, which exploded upon entering the lower, dense atmosphere ” – reported on the website of the Russian Geographical Society. Something similar took place in the Chelyabinsk region in 1949, said Sergey Zakharov, head of the regional branch of the organization.
“The object is most likely a meteoroid or even car, “- commented on the event Elena Gienko, assistant professor of the department Astronomy and Gravimetry Siberian State Geodesic academy. – When approaching the Earth, the object was divided into two or three parts and exploded, causing a shock wave.
NASA Chelyabinsk
