An Asteroid Exploded Over Russia This Week And We Didn't See It Coming... Again

[Judi Lynn]

Omg.

JACINTA BOWLER 26 JUN 2018

Several Russian cities had a fantastic light show last Thursday, as a bright meteor burst into a fireball over the landscape.

And once again, no one saw it coming until it exploded.

NASA's fireball records show that the meteor exploded with 2.8 kilotons of force on June 21 at 01:16 UTC over a number of Russian cities including Lipetsk, which is south-east of Moscow.

The explosion size correlates to a smallish asteroid of about 4 metres (13 feet) in diameter, which is a bit of a baby compared to the 20 metre (65 feet) asteroid that exploded back in February 2013 over Chelyabinsk, Russia.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/an-asteroid-exploded-over-russia-this-week-and-we-didn-t-see-it-coming-again

[TexasTowelie]

1. If the Russians are watching the CBS show "Salvation" then they might be concerned.

The premise of the series is that the U.S. government gains the ability to alter the course of asteroids and they were responsible for the asteroid that exploded in February 2013. Another larger asteroid that is an extinction level event is on the way.

The second season premiered on Monday night.

[kurtcagle]

2. Russia tends to be meteor central

People tend to forget that Russia extends across 13 time zones, meaning that if a meteor comes down more than about 30 degrees N latitude, there is about a 55% chance that it will land somewhere in Russia.