Author Topic: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia  (Read 222529 times)

Offline kevin-rf

  • Elite Veteran
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8823
  • Overlooking the path Mary's little Lamb took..
  • Liked: 1318
  • Likes Given: 306
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #80 on: 02/15/2013 03:31 pm »
Don't worry, I give Obama exactly 3 days to find religion and make a NEO telescope and Mission a national priority.

That's okay, I already saw a Russian news article claiming it was a US weapons test.
If you're happy and you know it,
It's your med's!

Offline smoliarm

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 831
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Liked: 716
  • Likes Given: 609
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #81 on: 02/15/2013 03:32 pm »
The meteorite didn't detonate. The explosion sounds are pieces of the meteorite going supersonic/hypersonic velocities with the largest piece having the loudest initial bang.

Edit: Large impact crater!



This video is a scam - it was filmed about 6 years ago at the burning natural gas site somewhere in Kazakhstan. The original video with correct date and place is still on YouTube, I could find ref. The funniest thing is that the gov TV channel, NTV, bought that scam and aired this video :)
-- Do not trust NTV.

The truth is - there are no craters found.
The only impact site reported so far is on the lake Chebarkul, it has perfectly circular shape (8 m in diameter) with prominent ejecta trail of ~ 40 m. This implies that relatively small fragment hit the ice at supersonic speed.

Offline R7

  • Propulsophile
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2725
    • Don't worry.. we can still be fans of OSC and SNC
  • Liked: 992
  • Likes Given: 668
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #82 on: 02/15/2013 03:39 pm »
That's okay, I already saw a Russian news article claiming it was a US weapons test.

Clearly FUD by the Decepticons that just landed.

The good news seems to be that no fatalities reported, and injuries are mostly cuts and bruises only!

Question: if this thing would have entered in steeper angle would the damage been much greater but localized?
AD·ASTRA·ASTRORVM·GRATIA

Offline Ben the Space Brit

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7206
  • A spaceflight fan
  • London, UK
  • Liked: 806
  • Likes Given: 900
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #83 on: 02/15/2013 03:55 pm »
Another Bolide-style airburst event - this time reported from central Cuba.

Original link from RAI News Italy - (Warning Italian language)

Translation by GOOGLE TRANSLATE
Quote
Residents of a locality 'in the central region of Cuba said they had seen an object that fell from the sky and exploded with a great noise, which shook the houses of the place: it is learned from testimonies collected by local television. In service published this morning by Rodas, town in the province of Cienfuegos, witnesses described a very bright light that has come to have large size, comparable to that of a bus, before exploding in the sky.
« Last Edit: 02/15/2013 03:55 pm by Ben the Space Brit »
"Oops! I left the silly thing in reverse!" - Duck Dodgers

~*~*~*~

The Space Shuttle Program - 1981-2011

The time for words has passed; The time has come to put up or shut up!
DON'T PROPAGANDISE, FLY!!!

Offline mlindner

  • Software Engineer
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2902
  • Space Capitalist
  • Silicon Valley, CA
  • Liked: 2202
  • Likes Given: 814
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #84 on: 02/15/2013 04:08 pm »
http://attivissimo.blogspot.com/2013/02/russian-meteor-path-plotted-in-google.html

Plot of the meteor's path over russia using weather sat images.
LEO is the ocean, not an island (let alone a continent). We create cruise liners to ride the oceans, not artificial islands in the middle of them. We need a physical place, which has physical resources, to make our future out there.

Offline kevin-rf

  • Elite Veteran
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8823
  • Overlooking the path Mary's little Lamb took..
  • Liked: 1318
  • Likes Given: 306
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #85 on: 02/15/2013 04:09 pm »
Well I did see a faint shooting star going north to south while sitting in the hot tub last night.

btw. A link to the news article that claims it was a US weapons test.
http://rt.com/politics/zhirinovsky-meteorite-american-weapon-316/

When this is over, I think we will need a chicken little the sky is falling party thread.
If you're happy and you know it,
It's your med's!

Offline GM4BRB - 5DecadesinSpace

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #86 on: 02/15/2013 04:11 pm »






Hey, can't label me a communist so try 'Coincidence Theorist'.

And then the Big Air-burst over the City.


Source RT.com (Russia Today)
Images and Latest News as it bursts at:

Meteorite hits Russian Urals: Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, over 900 injured
http://rt.com/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/

Nobody Panic!
« Last Edit: 02/15/2013 04:55 pm by GM4BRB - 5DecadesinSpace »

Offline mmeijeri

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7772
  • Martijn Meijering
  • NL
  • Liked: 397
  • Likes Given: 822
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #87 on: 02/15/2013 04:12 pm »
Clearly FUD by the Decepticons that just landed.

Hmm, it looks as if Jesse Ventura was right about Bigelow and his alien cronies. I for one welcome our new inflatable expandable overlords!
Pro-tip: you don't have to be a jerk if someone doesn't agree with your theories

Online JohnFornaro

  • Not an expert
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10973
  • Delta-t is an important metric.
  • Planet Eaarth
    • Design / Program Associates
  • Liked: 1257
  • Likes Given: 724
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #88 on: 02/15/2013 04:12 pm »
PRI's news release inflated that estimate:

Quote from: Lewicki
Hi there,

As you probably have heard, today, February 15th, a 150-foot (45 meter) asteroid is whizzing by the Earth a hair’s breath from the surface.  ...
 
-Chris Lewicki
President & Chief Asteroid Miner

Good for business.

This is unrelated to the meteorite that just impacted. He was talking about 2012 DA14 that is due to have its closest approach with Earth in a few hours.

Good call.

Still, good for business.
Sometimes I just flat out don't get it.

Offline mmeijeri

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7772
  • Martijn Meijering
  • NL
  • Liked: 397
  • Likes Given: 822
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #89 on: 02/15/2013 04:23 pm »
Visual distance perception of these events is clearly very unreliable. When the meteor is at its brightest, it looks as if it is going to impact very nearby, perhaps even hitting the camera. Once the fireball is over, you can see it is still quite a way off. And judging by the the dispersal of the trail left by the meteorite there must have been a long delay between the impacts and the sonic booms, so most of these clips must have been taken from many tens of kilometers away. Still, the blast wave was enough to do serious damage.
« Last Edit: 02/15/2013 04:29 pm by mmeijeri »
Pro-tip: you don't have to be a jerk if someone doesn't agree with your theories

Offline R7

  • Propulsophile
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2725
    • Don't worry.. we can still be fans of OSC and SNC
  • Liked: 992
  • Likes Given: 668
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #90 on: 02/15/2013 04:27 pm »
Hmm, it looks as if Jesse Ventura was right about Bigelow and his alien cronies. I for one welcome our new inflatable expandable overlords!

There have been alternate theories of the nature of this phenomenon (I guess in US that would be Chuck Norris) :

http://cs6081.userapi.com/v6081385/508f/hhp8_8Hlg7g.jpg

And this one suits so well on NSF  ;D  :

« Last Edit: 02/15/2013 04:40 pm by Chris Bergin »
AD·ASTRA·ASTRORVM·GRATIA

Offline Robotbeat

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39270
  • Minnesota
  • Liked: 25226
  • Likes Given: 12114
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #91 on: 02/15/2013 04:28 pm »
Visual distance perception of these events is clearly very unreliable. When the meteor is at its brightest, it looks as if it is going to impact very nearby, perhaps even hitting the camera. Once the fireball is over, you can see it is still quite a way off. And judging by the the dispersal of the trail left by the meteorite there must have been a large delay between the impacts and the sonic booms, so most of these clips must have been taken from many tens of kilometers away away. Still, the blast wave is enough to do serious damage.
By far the easiest (and maybe most reliable) way to estimate distance would be from delay of the boom.
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline mmeijeri

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7772
  • Martijn Meijering
  • NL
  • Liked: 397
  • Likes Given: 822
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #92 on: 02/15/2013 04:32 pm »
Yeah, but that's hard to judge from these clips, since most of them show either the flash or the bang, but not both. Still, that by itself gives you a minimum distance for the flashes. For the bangs you can only to try to guess how long it took people to get outside and start filming, or you could guesstimate the delay by the dispersal of the meteorite trail.
Pro-tip: you don't have to be a jerk if someone doesn't agree with your theories

Offline Robotbeat

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39270
  • Minnesota
  • Liked: 25226
  • Likes Given: 12114
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #93 on: 02/15/2013 04:34 pm »
Yeah, but that's hard to judge from these clips, since most of them show either the flash or the bang, but not both. Still, that by itself gives you a minimum distance for the flashes. For the bangs you can only to try to guess how long it took people to get outside and start filming, or you could guesstimate the delay by the dispersal of the meteorite trail.
Also, there are probably quite a few that have the whole thing recorded.
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13982
  • UK
  • Liked: 3968
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #94 on: 02/15/2013 04:37 pm »
If this puts the wind up a few politicians to spend some money on telescopes hunting for these objects then all well & good. There was a piece in the new Scientist recently that due to lack of funding we could soon have a blind spot in the hunt for such objects in the Southern Hemisphere.

Offline Ben the Space Brit

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7206
  • A spaceflight fan
  • London, UK
  • Liked: 806
  • Likes Given: 900
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #95 on: 02/15/2013 04:37 pm »
http://attivissimo.blogspot.com/2013/02/russian-meteor-path-plotted-in-google.html

Plot of the meteor's path over russia using weather sat images.

Yep, definitely looks like it came out of the north-east.
"Oops! I left the silly thing in reverse!" - Duck Dodgers

~*~*~*~

The Space Shuttle Program - 1981-2011

The time for words has passed; The time has come to put up or shut up!
DON'T PROPAGANDISE, FLY!!!

Offline R7

  • Propulsophile
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2725
    • Don't worry.. we can still be fans of OSC and SNC
  • Liked: 992
  • Likes Given: 668
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #96 on: 02/15/2013 04:38 pm »
Doesn't a rock of several meters show up on USSTRATCOM screens well before it hits the atmosphere? Or russian equivalent agency?
AD·ASTRA·ASTRORVM·GRATIA

Online Chris Bergin

Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #97 on: 02/15/2013 04:40 pm »
NASA Statement:

According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russian meteorite was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. Information is still being collected about the Russian meteorite and analysis is preliminary at this point. In videos of the meteor, it is seen to pass from left to right in front of the rising sun, which means it was traveling from north to south. Asteroid DA14's trajectory is in the opposite direction, from south to north.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline mmeijeri

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7772
  • Martijn Meijering
  • NL
  • Liked: 397
  • Likes Given: 822
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #98 on: 02/15/2013 04:43 pm »
Aargh, again not responding to Jorge's argument. Chris, could you point a NASA PAO at Jorge's post and ask him to comment?
Pro-tip: you don't have to be a jerk if someone doesn't agree with your theories

Offline smoliarm

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 831
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Liked: 716
  • Likes Given: 609
Re: Meteor Strikes Chelyabinsk, Russia
« Reply #99 on: 02/15/2013 04:48 pm »
That's okay, I already saw a Russian news article claiming it was a US weapons test.

Clearly FUD by the Decepticons that just landed.

The good news seems to be that no fatalities reported, and injuries are mostly cuts and bruises only!

Question: if this thing would have entered in steeper angle would the damage been much greater but localized?

OK, I passed this exam with an A, but it was in 1996. So, I'll try to answer, but wont bet $100 that my answer is 100% correct :)

First, the steep entry angle means early and rapid breakup, multiple detonation events and no debris reaching the ground. Detonations occur too high for any damage on the ground by shock wave.

Second, the shallow angle (which is still flight-terminating) results in slow fragmentation (like one-bite-at-a-time), and SINGLE detonation - if it comes to that, and it's not that strong (as most of the original mass is "chipped" away. A lot of fragments fell to the ground, but all vertically and at sub-sonic speed.

For both above cases, damage on the ground is low, the worst scenario is in the middle.
The present case is obviously in-between - two major explosions, at least one fragment was supersonic on impact. But it is difficult to tell which way (in terms of angle) is the worst.
Let's put it this way - if we take exactly this size rock with the same speed and optimize angle for the lowest possible altitude explosion - the damage will be greater and the area will be wider.

One more thing - it is absolutely correct to call this event "explosion" or "detonation", despite the fact there is no TNT or C4 in the thing. The kinetics and thermodynamics are the same, and the shock wave properties are the same - down to the last equation.

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0