USA Today: Meteor shower in central Russia injures hundreds

[KDawg]

Yep. I can absolutely understand why someone would think that could be a missile. How many people are goping to say "Look! a meteor!" Especially when there wasn't a warning that it was coming. My reaction would be. "What the **** was that?!"

I can see that reaction. I can't see the, "I wonder where they launched it from?" reaction.

[autoidiodyssey]

If it's "thinly populated" how does it injure hundreds? The article says it did damage in 6 cities (there a 6 cities in a thinly populated area?).

Chelyabinsk is roughly the size of Dallas. Not sure how they came up with "thinly populated". If you look at it on a map it looks like someone shot the area with a shotgun, there are so many small roundish lakes. How many of those lakes are from impacts? I wonder if that part of the world is more prone for impacts for some reason.

[Corcaigh]

Are near-Earth objects like this considered a national security threat yet? They should be if they are not already...

They are a national security threat. But not being taken seriously.

Via Neil DeGrasse Tyson:

[Predicto]

Good compilation of footage:

Wow. Putting aside the meteorite, all I can say is that in shot after shot, Russia looks like the most dreary, depressing place on the planet.

[sideshow24]

Wow. Putting aside the meteorite, all I can say is that in shot after shot, Russia looks like the most dreary, depressing place on the planet.

With the worlds highest dash-cam to vehicle ratio.

[deejaydana]

33, 000 MPH ! I've watched the various videos of this asteroid but it's still hard to wrap your mind around that level of speed.

BTW: Another huge asteroid is set to buzz the Earth in approximately one hour from now. Does anyone know how best to view it?

[Mark The Homer]

33, 000 MPH ! I've watched the various videos of this asteroid but it's still hard to wrap your mind around that level of speed.

BTW: Another huge asteroid is set to buzz the Earth in approximately one hour from now. Does anyone know how best to view it?

I did. You have to be in Australia or some other equally inconvenient place. You can see it with binoculars if you know where to look. You won't see it with the naked eye.

[mcsluggo]

Wow. Putting aside the meteorite, all I can say is that in shot after shot, Russia looks like the most dreary, depressing place on the planet.

it looks like Nevada.

http://www.gbcnv.edu/howh/BattleMountain.html

[autoidiodyssey]

it looks like Nevada.

Or Kansas. I drove from Wichita to Pueblo via Dodge City on 400 and 50. It was as bleak as it gets. Just desolate small town after desolate small town and all these weird shrubby trees that had all of their branches ripped off by tornadoes. Though I suppose the weather in Russia is worse, much colder.

[heyholetsgogrant]

Traktor Arena, home to KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk, closed due to meteor damage

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-pu...8956--nhl.html

[mistertim]

When I watched some of those videos earlier I was thinking to myself "Wow, Russians really just aren't fazed by anything" because the people were driving on like nothing was happening, not even hitting the breaks or yelling. "Oh, what is that? Huh, could be the end of the world maybe. Whatever." Then I saw that Cracked had pretty much the same thoughts

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/5...t-give-f2340k/

5 Meteor Videos that Prove Russians Don't Give a ****

(NSFW language)

[Special K]

Sorry people were injured, but DAMN if that isn't one of the top 5 coolest things I've ever seen!

---------- Post added February-15th-2013 at 04:53 PM ----------

Wow. Putting aside the meteorite, all I can say is that in shot after shot, Russia looks like the most dreary, depressing place on the planet.

Explains why they drink so much vodka. I too would be an alcoholic if I had to live there.

[STBonecrusher21]

Sorry people were injured, but DAMN if that isn't one of the top 5 coolest things I've ever seen!

I'm sure they don't mind either.

I mean how cool is that for them? "Hey man what happened?!?!" "Injured in a meteor shower, no big deal."

[Burgold]

Fantastic indepth interviews about tracking and predicting these events. Yeah, I'm biased, but I left the booth thinking this is really cool stuff. Please let me know whatcha think.

A story on the meteor strike in Russia and the difficulties of predicting and tracking them. Amazingly, more damage is usually done by the sonic boom than by the meteorites themselves.

I was able to speak with Dr. Ed Beshore he's a senior staff scientist at the University of Arizona as well as the deputy principal investigator for NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission and Dr. Ed Beshore, a deputy principal investigator for NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, to discuss the meteorite strike..

Really appreciated the way they broke everything down. Great analysis of the difficulties of tracking and working with these objects.


http://voicerussia.com/radio_broadca...104975343.html

[Dan T.]

Google Removes Google Doodle of Asteroid After Meteorite Injures Hundreds in Russia.



The doodle was created to commemorate the passing of asteroid 2012 DA14 passing near Earth, but then Google pulled it once news came out of the major incident in Russia.