Friday, February 15, 2013
More Than 500 Injured, Buildings Damaged From Meteor Strike In Russia
A automobile's dash cam captures the approaching meteor as it explodes in the Russian sky earlier today.
Amateur video capturing the scene on the ground near the time of the impact.
Without any prior warnings from the government of its arrival, a meteorite entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded in the Ural Mountain region of Russia near Chelyabinsk, causing a sonic boom and explosion that damaged buildings and injured more than 500 persons. According to Russian officials, the meteorite weighed about 10 tons when it entered the Earth's atmosphere. At least three debris sites have been identified and a crater six meters in diameter was found at one of the impact sites. At last 20,000 rescue workers have been deployed to the affected region. Unconfirmed reports claim a Russian air defense unit intercepted the meteor, blowing the meteor to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers
NASA has alerted the American public to a large meteor that will make a dangerously close pass by the Earth later today. NASA will begin live streaming video today before the asteroid passes by the Earth at 2:25 p.m. today within 17,000 miles of Earth. That rock is said to be the size of half of a football field.