A Huge Meteor Exploded Over Russia On Friday Morning (Feb 15, 2013)

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

Several videos and reports are showing that a huge meteor just exploded over Eastern Russia, near Urals, early on Friday local time. The BBC is reporting that windows were shattered and even some school children may have been hurt, probably by the flying glass. 

Here's what the scene looks like in the aftermath:

The scene on the ground in the Urals after the #RussianMeteorite hit twitter.com/moonbird/statu…

— moonbird (@moonbird) February 15, 2013

RT.com reports:

Lifenews tabloid said that at least one piece of the fallen object caused damage on the ground in Chelyabinsk. According to preliminary reports, it crashed into a wall near a zinc factory, disrupting the city's Internet and mobile service.

Witnesses said the explosion was so loud that it seemed like an earthquake and thunder had struck at the same time, and that there were huge trails of smoke across the sky. Others reported seeing burning objects fall to earth.

It made a bright streak through the sky and a huge boom when it exploded. Here's a stunning video of it shining bright as it falls through the atmosphere:

There's a ton more videos on YouTube. This compilation video is pretty great. 

Officials told Reuters that the object exploded at about 32,000 feet above the Earth.

The BadAstronomer, aka Phil Plait, warns that these things get faked all the time, but he seems convinced that this is for real. I agree, seeing so many different videos of the event that all look the same.

He says it's most likely unrelated to the asteroid DA14 that will pass by Earth tomorrow.

I don’t *think* this meteor is related to #2012DA14; a solid 12+ hours ahead; DA14 is still pretty far out. Coincidence?

— Phil Plait (@BadAstronomer) February 15, 2013

This video shows a shockwave about 20 seconds in, which Plait says is from the meteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere, not the acutal explosion:

NEIC shows no earthquakes in that area of Russia, so this did not hit the ground. #RussianMeteor

— Adam (@mycroft16) February 15, 2013

And one note for those perusing the YouTube videos. A video of a burning crater is making the rounds, but that's actually from the "Door To Hell" in Turkmenistan. Here's a whole gallery of images of the burning crater. It is totally unrelated to today's meteor.

source:: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-huge-meteor-just-exploded-over-rus...

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

more information:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/02/15/breaking_huge_m...

all videos to date of the event:

http://say26.com/meteorite-in-russia-all-videos-in-one-place

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

не паникуйте. Челябинск 55°09′17″N 61°22′33″E. ok, there are conflicting reports coming in now about why it exploded mid-air: 1) the Russian military shot it down. 2) they didn't know it was coming because it was on earth's daylight side. 3) this event is totally unrelated to the passing of the asteroid predicted to occur at around 6PM EST tomorrow. Now, I'm no intelligence analyst, but I do know lies when they're fling in my face. I'm going with Matthew's original assertion on this topic: this is the comet "Wormwood" predicted by John of Patmos 2000 years ago and Nostradamus 400 years ago. Between this and the (probably HAARP induced) lightning bolt hitting St. Peter's Cathedral I'm going to assert further what we're witnessing NOW is the NWO's staged version of the Christian Apocalypse event. Well played, I say. Hope they fail. PEACE!

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

Another government expert, who spoke to Moscow FM radio station, said he believed it may have been a bolide, a type of fireball meteor that explodes in the earth’s atmosphere because of its composition or angle of entry and can be observed from the ground.

However, the governor of the Chelyabinsk region reported that a search team had found an impact crater on the outskirts of a city about 50 miles west of Chelyabinsk, which would indicate the meteor did not explode in the atmosphere. Several fragments were also reported to have struck around the city of Satka.

- source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/world/europe/meteorite-fragments-...

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

Fireball

A fireball is a brighter-than-usual meteor. The International Astronomical Union defines a fireball as "a meteor brighter than any of the planets" (magnitude −4 or greater). TheInternational Meteor Organization (an amateur organization that studies meteors) has a more rigid definition. It defines a fireball as a meteor that would have a magnitude of −3 or brighter if seen at zenith. This definition corrects for the greater distance between an observer and a meteor near the horizon. For example, a meteor of magnitude −1 at 5 degrees above the horizon would be classified as a fireball because if the observer had been directly below the meteor it would have appeared as magnitude −6. For 2011 there are 4589 fireballs records at the American Meteor Society. Fireballs reaching magnitude −14 or brighter are calledbolides. The IAU has no official definition of "bolide", and generally considers the term synonymous with "fireball". Astronomers often use "bolide" to identify an exceptionally bright fireball, particularly one that explodes (sometimes called a detonating fireball). It may also be used to mean a fireball which creates audible sounds. The word bolide comes from the Greekβολίς (bolis) which can mean a missile or to flash. If the magnitude of a bolide reaches −17 or brighter it is known as asuperbolide.

- source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolide#Fireball

[Lizzy]

Russian bomber's and meteorites, oh my.  I too hope the NWO fails.  Rapid succession of foreign/domestic terrorists and meteorites.  Aliens must be next.  Boy, that Ronald Reagan was a dumb ass. Better yet, his speech writer was a dumb ass because now we know the end game scenario to this plot.  Bring on the black pope so we can get this over with already and get groovy.  We live in fascinating days and I'm glad to know all of you. :)     

[Jonathan Barlow Gee]

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA chief Charles Bolden has advice on how to handle a large asteroid headed toward New York City: Pray.

That's about all the United States - or anyone for that matter - could do at this point about unknown asteroids and meteors that may be on a collision course with Earth, Bolden told lawmakers at a U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee hearing on Tuesday.

An asteroid estimated to be have been about 55 feet in diameter exploded on February 15 over Chelyabinsk, Russia, generating shock waves that shattered windows and damaged buildings. More than 1,500 people were injured.

Later that day, a larger, unrelated asteroid discovered last year passed about 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the network of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.

The events "serve as evidence that we live in an active solar system with potentially hazardous objects passing through our neighborhood with surprising frequency," said Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas Democrat.

"We were fortunate that the events of last month were simply an interesting coincidence rather than a catastrophe," said Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, who called the hearing to learn what is being done and how much money is needed to better protect the planet.

NASA has found and is tracking about 95 percent of the largest objects flying near Earth, those that are .62 miles or larger in diameter.

"An asteroid of that size, a kilometer or bigger, could plausibly end civilization," White House science advisor John Holdren told legislators at the same hearing.

But only about 10 percent of an estimated 10,000 potential "city-killer" asteroids, those with a diameter of about 165 feet have been found, Holdren added.

On average, objects of that size are estimated to hit Earth about once every 1,000 years.

"From the information we have, we don't know of an asteroid that will threaten the population of the United States," Bolden said. "But if it's coming in three weeks, pray."

In addition to stepping up its monitoring efforts and building international partnerships, NASA is looking at developing technologies to divert an object that may be on a collision course with Earth.

"The odds of a near-Earth object strike causing massive casualties and destruction of infrastructure are very small, but the potential consequences of such an event are so large it makes sense to takes the risk seriously," Holdren said.

About 66 million years ago, an object 6 miles in diameter is believed to have smashed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, leading to the demise of the dinosaurs, as well as most plant and animal life on Earth.

The asteroid that exploded over Russia last month was the largest object to hit Earth's atmosphere since the 1908 Tunguska event when an asteroid or comet exploded over Siberia, leveling 80 million trees over more than 830 square miles (2,150 sq km).

- source: http://news.yahoo.com/large-asteroid-heading-earth-pray-says-nasa-0...