Russia reports amazing meteorite strike

[jmc247]

MOSCOW — A Russian emergencies official says at least one meteorite has fallen in Chelyabinsk region.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...e64_story.html

Early reports just coming in of injuries and amazing video is already up already up as one can see below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c-0i...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=1W90i4nZZAQ

[billcosby]

I have a hard time believing that video is real. The reflection on the ground... it's both mystifying and terrifying.

[sojourner]

If real, and the videos looked pretty real to me, the timing of this is a bit disturbing.

[billcosby]

I can't imagine what I would feel if I glanced out the window to see a flaming rock that size hurling itself towards me. What are the odds it hit any populated areas? Russia is both lucky and unlucky all at once; they have a huge land mass which is sparsely populated.

None of the other news agencies seem to have picked up on this. I have a feeling that image (if real) is going to be widely circulated tomorrow.

[RevDMV]

Plus that blast wave, pretty damn impressive...

Lots of independent youtube vids up right now. A real phenomenon, but what it was is still open.

[billcosby]

These ones look as legit as the others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUBVjwteQ30
Now I have to bring up the other question in mind... is it customary to drive in Russia with a recording device on your dash?

Another drive by...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRIBNAJRI

This one has chilling audio... you can really hear it land close by!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Os9T4R7Oo

Would it be the first time in recorded history that this has happened on a major scale? I found a very short list of recorded injuries, there are only 10 for the entire 20th century alone:
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/0...ed-deaths.html

[jmc247]

billcosby wrote:

---

This one looks as legit as the others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUBVjwteQ30
Now I have to bring up the other question in mind... is it customary to drive in Russia with a recording device on your dash?

I have been known here in the U.S. when I see or hear something that might be a meteor (usually it isn't) do something along those lines. I have never seen anything in the league of that scale though. At best I have seen shooting stars. Oh and I do it in such a way to avoid danger to myself and others.

It makes me wonder the odds of a few mile across space rock hit hitting Earth and if governments should invest more in tracking these rocks.

[billcosby]

Holy shit! This one has the loud bang, car alarms going off, it's crazy. Seems like this one is in Chelyabinsk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtOL5OiWTNI

A pretty major hole in the side of what looks like a factory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgZ0aA7RUhE

It's lookin' a little too Michael Bay for Valentine's Day. Hope me Russian peeps are safe and that the Kremlin has dispatched agents to assess Decepticon activity.

[jmc247]

Early reports from many many miles away from the possible impact site are reporting a large number of injuries already, the number is certain to grow.

100 injured after meteorite crashes in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — A meteor streaked across the sky over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and reportedly injuring around 100 people.

Fragments of the meteor fell in a thinly populated area of the Chelyabinsk region, the Emergency Ministry said in a statement.

Interior Ministry spokesman Vadim Kolesnikov said 102 people had called for medical assistance following the incident, mostly for treatment of injuries from glass broken by the explosions. Kolsenikov also said about 600 square meters (6,000 square feet) of a roof at a zinc factory had collapsed.

Reports conflicted on what exactly happened in the clear skies. A spokeswoman for the Emergency Ministry, Irina Rossius, told The Associated Press that there was a meteor shower, but another ministry spokeswoman, Elena Smirnikh, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying it was a single meteorite.

Amateur video broadcast on Russian television showed an object speeding across the sky about 9:20 a.m. local time (0320 GMT), leaving a thick white contrail and an intense flash.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...orite/1921991/

[M'Sharak]

http://rt.com/news/meteorite-crash-u...elyabinsk-283/

Pictures and video clips:

http://zyalt.livejournal.com/722930.html

[sojourner]

And yes, dashcams are "a thing" in Russia, bless them.

[teacake]

Have they found a big hunk of it in the ground?

[M'Sharak]

Not yet.

A couple of recaps:

Planetary Society Blog

Bad Astronomer

[sojourner]

Bad Astronomer says this is purely coincidence that this event occurred so close in time to the passing of 2102 DA14. I don't really like pure coincidence when dealing with astronomical scales. They tend to turn out not to be so purely coincidental.

Don't read me wrong. I don't go for conspiracy/wacko theories either. I just think it's way to early to write off as coincidence without further analysis.

[teacake]

You think it was launched?