Largest Meteor in a Century Explodes Over Russia

NASA: Russian Meteor Blast Bigger Than Thought

Quote :

The Russian meteor explosion over the city of Chelyabinsk, on Friday (Feb. 15), injured more than 1,000 people and blew out windows across the region in a massive blast captured on cameras by frightened witnesses. Friday afternoon, NASA scientists estimated the meteor was space rock about 50 feet (15 meters) and sparked a blast equivalent of a 300-kiloton explosion. The energy estimate was later increased to 470 kilotons.

But late Friday, NASA revised its estimates on the size and power of the devastating meteor explosion. The meteor's size is now thought to be slightly larger -- about 55 feet (17 m) wide -- with the power of the blast estimate of about 500 kilotons, 30 kilotons higher than before, NASA officials said in a statement.

That's roughly 30 times the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Nice to know that nature still makes our atomic weapons look like a chemistry playset.

Quote :

NASA scientists said the Russian meteor event, however, is a rare occurrence. Not since 1908, when a space rock exploded over Russia's Tunguska River in Siberia and flattened 825 square miles (2,137 square km) of uninhabited forest land, has a meteor event been so devastating.

"We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average," Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL said. "When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones."

According to the Associated Press, search teams have recovered small objects that might be meteorite fragments and divers are searching the bottom of a lake where a meteorite is thought to have landed.

Can't wait to get mine on Ebay!

Eh, the one in 1908 was better

First, our nuclear bombs have gotten much more powerful since Hiroshima.

Second, God clearly hates Russia. As evidenced by:

This event
Being Russia
The Tunguska event
Being Russia throughout all of history

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

First, our nuclear bombs have gotten much more powerful since Hiroshima.

Second, God clearly hates Russia. As evidenced by:

This event
Being Russia
The Tunguska event
Being Russia throughout all of history

I really want to argue with you but I can't.

On that note:

The Tunguska event happened in the middle of fucking nowhere where no one actually lives/bothers (i.e., Siberia). Also, 11% of the world's total land mass is Russian. It's not that improbable for two meteors to crash there in the span of more than 100 years. I wouldn't call it divine intervention.

So it's official. Superman has arrived and will be raised Russian.

Well, either that or the bugs from Klendathu have fired their opening salvo and it's up to us, the brave citizens of Earth, to either shit our pants in terror or respond by firing a chunk of rock the size of Texas back at them. In fact, why don't we just send them Texas altogether?

Aggie wrote:

So it's official. Superman has arrived and will be raised Russian.

Well on the bright side, Lex Luthor wil be president and America will get the overhaul it's desperately needed.

Superman: Red Son: Best Elseworlds Story EVER!

saja wrote:

The Tunguska event happened in the middle of fucking nowhere where no one actually lives/bothers (i.e., Siberia). Also, 11% of the world's total land mass is Russian. It's not that improbable for two meteors to crash there in the span of more than 100 years. I wouldn't call it divine intervention.

If you mean 11% of the entire Earth's surface and not just the parts that aren't covered in water, it's still about a 1 in 100 chance that two out of two (known) events like this happen in Russia. If, as I suspect, that's 11% of the crust not covered in water, that would make it about 1/30th (check my math) of the world's surface, counting oceans. This would make it a 1 in 900 chance this happening twice in a row in Russia.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

saja wrote:

The Tunguska event happened in the middle of fucking nowhere where no one actually lives/bothers (i.e., Siberia). Also, 11% of the world's total land mass is Russian. It's not that improbable for two meteors to crash there in the span of more than 100 years. I wouldn't call it divine intervention.

If you mean 11% of the entire Earth's surface and not just the parts that aren't covered in water, it's still about a 1 in 100 chance that two out of two (known) events like this happen in Russia. If, as I suspect, that's 11% of the crust not covered in water, that would make it about 1/30th (check my math) of the world's surface, counting oceans. This would make it a 1 in 900 chance this happening twice in a row in Russia.

A 1 in 900 chance, you say? Meh, still a billion times more likely than me solving a maths problem! Besides, it only happened two times in a row if you neglect every other meteor fall that has been recorded outside of Russia during that last 100 years. Notable meteorite crashes happen several times a year and not always in Russia. A 50 kiloton meteor went down in Indonesia in 2009 and a 26 kiloton meteor over the Mediterranean Sea in 2002, just to give you a few examples. Granted, Russia was struck by the two biggest (recorded!) meteor events in recent history, but then again, nobody died in either of them. If that's not proof that God loves this country, I don't know what is!

Fun fact: In 1965, a car was damaged by a meteorite and the insurance company refused to pay, saying it was an "act of God". Enraged, the owner of the car went to the nearest church, demanding that since it was God who destroyed his car, the church should reimburse him for it!

I am wondering to what extend these 1000 some odd people were injured? Like, are we talking crippling injuries or mild lacerations?

Probably mild lacerations where they gripped thier arms and legs and whined "OH NO! I'VE BEEN CUT! HALP IM DYING! HAAAAAAAAALP PLS!" then started flailing around while screamin in russian, only making it bleed worse.

Have you seen the video footage? Russians straight up do not give a fuck 'bout meteors.

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

I am wondering to what extend these 1000 some odd people were injured? Like, are we talking crippling injuries or mild lacerations?

I hear it was mostly cuts from broken class. Which won't be crippling if it doesn't kill you, but may still require medical attention to survive.

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

Have you seen the video footage? Russians straight up do not give a fuck 'bout meteors.

Oh my god, right? It's all recorded on these weird hood-mounted car-cams and you'd think you'd hear something, someone screaming because there is a fucking fireball flying through the sky but apparently Russians on the whole are just so used to crazy shit happening in their everyday lives that a meteor is nbd.

Ах, родина!

Reidmar wrote:

Probably mild lacerations where they gripped thier arms and legs and whined "OH NO! I'VE BEEN CUT! HALP IM DYING! HAAAAAAAAALP PLS!" then started flailing around while screamin in russian, only making it bleed worse.

You have clearly never met a Russian. Or really any Eastern European. These are the people who practice srs bsns gymnastics -- the kind where you can become seriously injured just from hitting a mat wrong -- over concrete.

TheHedonist wrote:

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

Have you seen the video footage? Russians straight up do not give a fuck 'bout meteors.

Oh my god, right? It's all recorded on these weird hood-mounted car-cams

Those car-cams are actually there so that drivers have a recording when they're pulled over by the police. The Russian police isn't entirely trustworthy, apparently, and these recordings give the driver some proof should anything Not Entirely Up To Code happen.

Jay/Cris wrote:

TheHedonist wrote:

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

Have you seen the video footage? Russians straight up do not give a fuck 'bout meteors.

Oh my god, right? It's all recorded on these weird hood-mounted car-cams

Those car-cams are actually there so that drivers have a recording when they're pulled over by the police. The Russian police isn't entirely trustworthy, apparently, and these recordings give the driver some proof should anything Not Entirely Up To Code happen.

From what I hear, it's also to deal with the typical lunatic you find walking the streets of Russia. It's like the Wild West except balls deep in snow and drenched in vodka.

It doesn't help that your average Russian car can be easily dismantled by your average Russian woman in a fit of rage.