Was the Earth hit by a Meteorite? Wow!

[solar]

What is up with the Meteorite hit? What are the facts? Lets talk about it. How many were hurt or killed? Where did it hit? What kind of Meteorite was it?

[stepping beyond]

This morning it hit somewhere in Russia, around 780 people were injured,entered atmosphere at 33,000 mph, sonic boom broke windows and blew doors off hinges. Made of space stuff? A Really intense scare for a lot of folks .Thank goodness it wasn't like Tunguska in the 19th century

[Hondo]

Tunguska was in the 20th century, 30 Jun 1908.

[johnny rango]

Yes ,just watching it on the news. Scientists are saying it was about 50 tons , 40-50 feet long,broke up about 30miles up. The nut jobs are already surfacing, failed nuke rocket test, alien craft, Then you have the usual "somebody needs to be sacked,how come nobody saw it , what are we going to do when the big one comes,useless Nasa, what are we paying them for" I kid you not,I can't believe some people. Two hits in a hundred years, and they were only pebbles. Still, it looked impressive.

[Melissa 44th Lat NY]

I wouldn't exactly say the Earth was hit. What happened was the meteor actually exploded in the air and pieces of it did land, but there is no impact crater yet officially reported to my knowledge at this time. If you search YouTube you will probably find many other bolides caught on video. This one is remarkable in that the shockwave, the sonic boom, caused injuries due to flying debris of broken glass, and there is a huge chunk of a wall and roof ripped off a building (a zinc factory as reported).

My musings on this: While we were in anticipation of approach of a much larger body that had been detected in a flyby nearly a year ago around this time, a smaller one sends a warning shot across our noses. We never even saw it coming. It makes me think we should give detecting a much higher priority. Like - NOW!

[stepping beyond]

Hondo I wasn't really sure, so I took a stab at it.Close but no" CIGAR". I new a correction was coming . thanks and Keep your eye to the sky

[drewp]

might of saw it comming if they wernt so fixated on the other one making a close pass today. Still hard to believe its coincedence. wonder what kind of odds they would put on that happening in las vegas.

[solar]

Good thing it did not hit the Earth together near this city thousands would be dead not just about 1,000 hurt. I wonder how big the impact crater would have been? I agree we could be hit badly some day by a rock. We need eyes in the sky.

[Melissa 44th Lat NY]

might of saw it comming if they wernt so fixated on the other one making a close pass today. Still hard to believe its coincedence. wonder what kind of odds they would put on that happening in las vegas.

That's an interesting point. With a close pass coming up, it might have been incentive for many volunteers to renew their search for more NEO's, on the other hand the hunters may have been distracted trying to get a glimpse of DA14 on the approach. I favor the factor that while ground and space telescopes play a crucial role in discovery of potentially hazardous asteroids, the technology that is really going to tip the odds in our favor detection wise hasn't yet been implemented and we need dedicated infrared telescopes in orbit. The B612 foundation focuses specifically on the problem and solutions. Astronaut and member/spokesperson Ed Lu has written an article on their site detailing our current standing and future possibilities. I haven't yet heard of a government funded project being thought of to do this service at this magnitude.

[danram90]

I dont believe that this earth will ever be destroyed by an asteroid. No need to worry.