Russian officials are reporting that a meteorite of indeterminate size struck the town of Chelyabinsk (approximately 950 miles east of Moscow) Feb. 15, 2013, at 9.20 a.m. (12:20 a. m. ET).
The meteorite was estimated to be almost 33.000 feet high when it exploded. The meteorite could be seen from as far away as 125 miles and was estimated to be traveling at 19 miles per second when it exploded.
Damage in Chelyabinsk included broken windows, some electrical damage, and small fires. Some telephone interference was reported.
Over 500 people reported minor injuries but no deaths were reported. The majority of injuries were from broken glass caused by the concussion of the explosion and fear of eye injury from the light produced by the explosion.
Russian officials reported no radiation threat from the meteorite. Russian scientists are searching for the remains of the meteorite.
Similar events have occurred worldwide in the past. The most devastating event was the explosion of a meteorite in Tunguska Russia that leveled over 1,250 square miles of mainly forest in 1908.
The small size of the object prevented Russia’s space administration or NASA from predicting the event.
This meteorite is not reported to have any relationship with the asteroid known as 2012 DA14 that is scheduled to pass near the Earth at 11:00 a.m. PST (2:00 p.m. EST) on Friday, Feb. 15.
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