Meteor that exploded above Chelyabinsk deposited hundreds of tons of dust

On February 15, 2013 a meteor that weighs 10,000 metric tons exploded about 22.5 kilometers above Chelyabinsk of Russia. That huge explosion deposited hundreds of tons of dust around the Earth’s stratosphere.

Here, NASA comes in. Its Suomi NPP satellite was in the right position to track the heavenly body for months. It observed that the cloud dust from the massive explosion dispersed outward and spread all over the northern hemisphere in four days.

The bolide that measured 59 feet (18 meters) across, slipped quietly into the Earth’s atmosphere at 41,600 mph (18.6 kilometers per second). Entering the Earth’s thin air burning from the friction, the meteor exploded. The event released 30 times more than the energy if compared to an atom bomb that annihilated portions of the city of Hiroshima. (From NASA)

*26

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *