A bolide hit the Earth over Russia, breaking up at low altitude, causing a strong shock that reached the ground causing damage.
There are reports of some fragments hitting the ground.
Good summary and videos at The Age
video from Russia Today
the fragments will be valuable and probably show up soon on ebay
there was no shootdown, the breakup is normal when the meteorite gets lower down into the atmosphere.
There are no issues with radiation [sic]
looks like a fairly slow shallow angle impact, detonating with kiloton++ energy below few km altitude - guessing from the video
that'd make it a substantial size meteor - probably well over a ton in weight, over a meter diameter, maybe several meters across.
Call it car size and the weight of a small truck
recovered fragments will give composition, I'm betting rocky chondrite - hope someone is sending some of the fragments to people who know what they are doing
interesting
unconfirmed reports of multiple injuries
- not unlikely given reports of shattered windows and ground shock, hopefully no one was killed
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You know what's going to happen next, right?
North Korea is going to issue a statement saying that its nuclear-tipped missile test was a complete success, thanking Russia for allowing the test over its own airspace, and warning the United States that the next one is for us.
And then U.S. Senate Republicans are going to filibuster NASA until after they get back from their next long vacation.
I wouldn't be surprised if injuries not linked to the meteorite would be reported as linked to it.
Regards,
Mauro.
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http://pensieri-eretici.blogspot.com
15 miles up is "low altitude?"
@Pareidolius - in this context, yes.