SIBERIA METEORITE FLATTENS 40 SQ MILES

The Times ^ | 7 June 2003 | Robin Shepherd

[Mike Darancette]

IF IT had hit Central London, Britain would no longer have a capital city. The force of the meteorite that hit eastern Siberia last September destroyed 40 square miles of forest and caused earth tremors felt 60 miles away.

An expedition from Russia's Kosmopoisk institute has only recently reached the site in a remote area north of Lake Baikal because of bad weather and difficult terrain, the Interfax news agency said yesterday.

Fragments of the meteorite had apparently exploded into shrapnel 18 miles above the Earth with the force of at least 200 tonnes of TNT.

At the time, Russian media reported that villagers 60 miles away had witnessed a gigantic fireball screeching down from the sky, causing windows to rattle and house lights to swing as they were hit by blast waves on September 25. There were no reported casualties.

Copyright 2003, The Times

[Brett66]

Interesting, I wonder how big it was? It's probably small enough to have went undetected even if we knew where to look.

[Contra]

I thought if one of these things hit the earth it was supposed to end all life, you know, end the world, as supposedly happened in the dinosaur days. And if it hits an ocean the whole world is supposed to be flooded, you know, all that catastrophic stuff. Why didn't the world end from this one?

[John H K]

What is it about Siberia that attracts these weird explosions? Is Siberia accursed?

No, it's just $(_@#!@#!@ huge.

It's the largest land area under a specific name on Earth.

[Sam Cree]

There are much bigger ones out there.

[John H K]

I thought if one of these things hit the earth it was supposed to end all life, you know, end the world, as supposedly happened in the dinosaur days. And if it hits an ocean the whole world is supposed to be flooded, you know, all that catastrophic stuff. Why didn't the world end from this one?

The world didn't end because it wasn't very big.

[ladyinred]

I wanted to say what you said , but decided it wouldn't be nice, so I am glad you said it so I didn't have to! LOL

[Husker24]

Its been almost a year, and still no pics..............*sigh*

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

All your asteroid are belong to us!

[Mike Darancette]

I thought if one of these things hit the earth it was supposed to end all life...

Depends how big it is, the BFR that got the dinos was 6 miles across, this one may have been 50-100 feet. And besides it started to come apart 18 miles above the earth.

[blam]

".2 kilotons is way small for a city buster."

I remember this being reported, dang if I didn't forget all about it. 40 square miles, I wonder what kind of wave that would have made in the Gulf Of Mexico?

[Sam Cree]

Where'd you get the name?

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

the BFR that got the dinos

A few months ago, my seven year old said to me at bedtime "Dad, I think God used an asteroid to kill the dinasaurs to make room for the people." My wife and I thought it was a very profound statement for a youngster to make. It makes for a good story, eh? :)

MM

[blam]

The Dark Ages: Were They Darker Than We Imagined

[Lazamataz]

You know, all kidding aside, it is amazingly lucky that the thing didn't come down over a more populated area. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Would have been seen as terrorism.

[Mike Darancette]

"Dad, I think God used an asteroid to kill the dinasaurs to make room for the people."

That is profound and that is exactly the way it worked out.

[Russian Sage]

What is it about Siberia that attracts these weird explosions? Is Siberia accursed?

No, just very, very big.

[eno_]

Is Siberia accursed?

No, just big. Which means the oceans had to have been hit more often. Makes me wonder if some mysterious ship disappearances, and some "rogue waves" are not explainable by asteroid impacts.

[humblegunner]

Why didn't the world end from this one?

Because my truck isn't paid off. Duh.