This week marks the 9-year anniversary of the Chelyabinsk Meteor event, the largest meteor to strike Earth since 1908. This is a compilation of all the footage recorded from that day:
On the morning of February 15, 2013, a 20m/66ft wide asteroid detonated 30km/97,000ft above the southern Ural region of Russia. Light from the explosion was visible 100km away, and the blast is considered to be equivalent to a 400-500 kiloton nuclear warhead. That’s 26 – 33 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
Although there were no causalities, nearly 1,500 people in the region were injured due to flying glass, falling debris, or being knocked down from the blast. 7,000+ buildings were damaged in what was the most powerful meteor impact since the 1908 Tunguska Event (a meteor airburst creating a ~12 megaton / ~12,000 kiloton explosion). Meteors like these are estimated to hit Earth once every 60 years. This has been the first time in modern history that a meteor caused damage to a populated area and it’s also the first time a meteor event was captured from so many angles.
This event gives us greater understanding of how much power is contained within a single meteor or asteroid strike. If you’re curious about surviving an asteroid, you can read this article which goes into more detail (“If you can’t make it out of the impact site in time, brace yourself for intense earthquakes. Steer clear of any tall buildings and get under something sturdy to protect your head.”)
Asteroids play an interesting role in my next novel, Cinderellavator – I invite you to learn more about that here!
After you’re finished, please feel welcomed to dive down the rabbit hole of every other Sci-Friday I’ve published in the past couple years. Have a great weekend! 🙂
