Russian 'meteor' was actually a tiny asteroid, NASA says (45 feet across, 10,000 tons & 40,000 mph)

The Los Angeles Times ^ | February 16, 2013 | Monte Morin

[2ndDivisionVet]

At a news conference Friday, NASA scientists said the object that exploded over Russia was a “tiny asteroid” that measured roughly 45 feet across, weighed about 10,000 tons and traveled about 40,000 mph.

The object vaporized roughly 15 miles above the surface of the Earth, causing a shock wave that triggered the global network of listening devices that was established to detect nuclear test explosions.

The force of the explosion measured between 300 and 500 kilotons, equivalent to a modern nuclear bomb, according to Bill Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

“When you hear about injuries, those are undoubtedly due to the events of the shock striking the city and causing walls to collapse and glass to fly, not due to fragments striking the ground,” Cooke said.

Scientists believe the object originated from the asteroid belt, a vast collection of debris orbiting between Mars and Jupiter that consists of leftover bits from the formation of the solar system. The asteroid probably traveled for a year before it burst into the atmosphere Friday. As yet, no fragments have been recovered, but experts believe the asteroid was rocky in nature, and not formed of dense iron and nickel...

[Fledermaus]

When I saw the damage from it this morning on Drudge, I knew it was no “meteorite”.

[Jyotishi]

Could’ve been Obama’s drone, though.

[Gene Eric]

>> 45 feet across, weighed about 10,000 tons

In thumper terms, that’s about 1,250,000 16 pound bowling balls.

[Eye of Unk]

Its a sobering thought that this was NOT detected untill it struck, nothing man made can hit it and that it can happen anytime and anywhere.

We may have been kept out of the loop so no panic scenarios would occur and then again I must suspect we do have either railgun or lasers that could hit it.

[Figment]

Russia seems to be a landing spot for these objects

[Figment]

Think again. There ain’t a damned thing we can do. We are at the mercy of the Lord , and when times up, it’s up. Fire and brimstone for everyone

[GeronL]

When the rock hits the ground its a meteorite

[thecodont]

We may have been kept out of the loop so no panic scenarios would occur and then again I must suspect we do have either railgun or lasers that could hit it.

Unless someone dreams up some stratospheric application of aerogel (which will still admit water vapor and sunlight) to trap the pesky things.

[windsorknot]

Videos taken of the thing are pretty amazing.

[Andrei Bulba]

Definitely upon impact it is a meteorite. In the atmosphere a meteor in all cases? Michael Medved spent a lot of time mocking people who thought it was an “asteroid” and saying it was just a meteor. He is a little arrogant and apparently he was wrong. However I’m not clear on space rocks in the solar system which are not asteroids since asteroids definitely pass and hit earth and are not limited to the area between Mars/ Jupiter.

I remember the amateur astronomer who has discovered many of these (Levy?) Saying from his observations over a lifetime, he believes it is most likely a fairly big one will slip into the atmosphere before it ever is detected.

[TigersEye]

By definition it was no ‘asteroid’ either. An asteroid is a chunk of rock that has not entered the atmosphere. When an asteroid does enter the atmosphere it is then known as a meteor.

[LukeL]

An asteroid is an object in the asteroid belt. A meteor is an object that burns up in the atmosphere, a meteorite is an object that hits the ground, and a meteoroid is an object in space. So an asteroid is just a different type of meteor/oid/ite.

[cynwoody]

The Earth Impacts Calculator figures it had an explosive yield of about 155kt and pegs the average interval between such impacts at 26 years.

However, they may be a bit low on their energy estimate, given they peg the sound intensity at "barely audible".

[Little Pig]

From what I understand, for the big ones like this, they generally use the term “bolide”, which sounds much cooler.

Also, general thread question, when is it a “meteoroid”, and when an “asteroid”? Where’s the line?

[Andrei Bulba]

They had thought this thing was 10 tons, now 10,000 tons? Quite a difference. We are lucky it exploded at 15 miles up. They couldn’t see it because it approached Earth from the direction of the sun. The article says it is the smaller ones they can’t detect, but I have to believe they can be well larger than this and go unseen.

[TigersEye]

As I said; outside the atmosphere it’s an asteroid. While falling through the atmosphere it’s a meteor.

[TigersEye]

Doesn’t 10,000 tons sound a little high for a rock 45 ft. across? I don’t know how to do the math to determine the density for that. Yet they say it wasn’t ‘dense’ like nickel or iron.

[Eye of Unk]

In my day job I deliver concrete, at one cubic yard its about 4,000 lbs. So a rock of 45 feet across would be about how many cubic yards?

[Ezekiel]

Don't short the Incediary Index. :)

Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

5464 chalaza {khal'-ad-zah}
probably from 5465;; n f
AV - hail 4; 4

1) hail

from 5465...

5465 chalao {khal-ah'-o}
from the base of 5490;; v
AV - let down 6, strike 1; 7

1) to loosen, slacken, relax
2) to let down from a higher place to a lower

from the base of 5490...

5490 chasma {khas'-mah}
from a form of an obsolete prim chao (to "gape" or "yawn");; n n
AV - gulf 1; 1

1) a gaping opening, a chasm, a gulf

Cf.

chasm (n.)

1590s, "deep crack in the earth," from Latin chasma, from Greek khasma "yawning hollow, gulf," related to khaskein "to yawn," and thus to chaos. In English in 17c. often spelled chasma.

 

What's a Chelyaba anyway?

It's a Bashkir word meaning "pit".

http://chelyabinskteaching.blogspot.com/2011/09/whats-chelyaba-anyway.html