A Huge Meteor Just Exploded Over Russia - Business Insider

Several videos and reports are showing that a huge meteor just exploded over Eastern Russia, near Urals, early on Friday local time. The BBC is reporting that windows were shattered and even some school children may have been hurt, probably by the flying glass.?

Here's what the scene looks like in the aftermath:

RT.com reports:

Lifenews tabloid said that at least one piece of the fallen object caused damage on the ground in Chelyabinsk. According to preliminary reports, it crashed into a wall near a zinc factory, disrupting the city's Internet and mobile service.

Witnesses said the explosion was so loud that it seemed like an earthquake and thunder had struck at the same time, and that there were huge trails of smoke across the sky. Others reported seeing burning objects fall to earth.

It made a bright streak through the sky and a huge boom when it exploded. Here's a stunning video of it shining bright as it falls through the atmosphere:

There's a ton more videos on YouTube.?This compilation video is pretty great.?

Officials told Reuters that the object exploded at about 32,000 feet above the Earth.

The BadAstronomer, aka Phil Plait, warns that these things get faked all the time, but he seems convinced that this is for real. I agree, seeing so many different videos of the event that all look the same.

He says it's most likely unrelated to the asteroid DA14 that will pass by Earth tomorrow.

This video shows a shockwave about 20 seconds in, which Plait says is from the meteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere, not the acutal explosion:

And one note for those perusing the YouTube videos. A video of a burning crater is making the rounds, but that's actually from the "Door To Hell" in Turkmenistan. Here's a whole gallery of images of the burning crater. It is totally unrelated to today's meteor.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-huge-meteor-just-exploded-over-russia-2013-2

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