Tag Archives: meteor

Russians Pull Gigantic Half-Ton Meteorite Fragment from Lake

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If you follow the sometimes strange happenings to do with space and science in general, you probably remember back on February 15th of this year when a massive meteorite entered the atmosphere over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk injuring hundreds of people when shock waves created by the meteorite blew windows out of buildings. Russian authorities knew that a large meteorite fragment had broken through the frozen surface of Lake Chebarkul and plunged into the icy depths.

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Russian authorities have finally gotten around to searching out that meteorite fragment and what they discovered is incredible. Divers were able to pull a half-ton meteorite fragment out of the frigid depths of the lake. Scientists estimate that the meteorite weighed 10,000 tons when it entered the Earth’s atmosphere.

The large fragment reportedly fractured into three parts during the trip from the bottom of the lake. Once the rock reached the surface and was weighed it was found to tip the scales at 1,255 pounds. Doctor Caroline Smith, the curator of meteorites at the London Natural History Museum, was able to confirm that the rock was a meteorite from visible features seen in images of the fragment such as a fusion crust. The fusion crust forms as the meteorite is traveling through the Earth’s atmosphere as a fireball.

I can’t help but wonder how much the giant meteorite is worth considering even small fragments were selling for significant amounts of money before Russian authorities confiscated them earlier this year.

[via BBC]

NASA Says Asteroid Probably Won’t Hit the Earth in 2032

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One of the scary things about the asteroids that zip around our solar system is that scientists simply don’t know all of them that are out there. While the chances of a gigantic asteroid smashing into the Earth with enough force to wipe us out is slim, the Earth is pelted with smaller asteroids all the time. Just ask the Russians what sort of damage a small asteroid can make when it goes meteor and enters the atmosphere.

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Another asteroid was recently discovered that passed impressively close to the Earth – on a cosmic scale. The asteroid zipped past the Earth in September but was only discovered this month. That means it made its close pass by the Earth and no one even knew it. Even more interesting is the fact that the asteroid’s orbit will bring the 1300 foot diameter projectile back to Earth in 2032.

Some early reports indicated that the asteroid has a chance of smashing into the Earth, unleashing a force of “thousands” of atomic bombs. NASA was quick to step in and put some of the fears to rest with the prediction that there’s only a 1:63,000 chance that the asteroid will hit the earth about 20 years from now. NASA went so far as to say that it was 99.998% sure asteroid 2013 TV135 will uneventfully zip past the Earth again in 2032. That prediction of a 1:63,000 chance doesn’t do much to make me feel better considering people hit the lottery every month with odds often much more remote than that.

[via CNN]

NASA Records Great Balls of Fire on Video

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In the predawn hours of August 28, a NASA video network consisting of five cameras located in the southeast United States recorded a massive fireball. The fireball was a meteor that entered the atmosphere of Earth over the Georgia/Tennessee border at 3:27 AM, moving at a speed of 56,000 mph.

nasa fireball

NASA reports that the meteor begin to break apart the skies northeast of Ocoee, Tennessee at an altitude of 33 miles. By the time NASA lost track of the meteor, it had descended to an altitude of 21 miles and slowed to speed of only 19,400 mph. NASA estimates of the rock was about two-feet wide and weighed over 100 pounds.

Even cooler than the gigantic fireball streaking through the Earth’s atmosphere and getting caught on video is the fact that it briefly outshined the moon. Doppler weather radar in the area also reported a rain of meteor fragments falling to the ground east of Cleveland, Tennessee.

I wonder how long before we see this on an episode of Meteorite Men.

[via Space.com]

Russian Police Confiscate Meteorite Fragments from Enterprising Citizens

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As you all know, last Friday a massive meteor entered the atmosphere over the Chelyabinsk Region of Russia. The meteor was large enough that scientists believe significant chunks reached the surface of the Earth. The meteor also caused quite a fireball in the sky and several explosions that shattered glass and injured over 1000 citizens in the area.

meteorite frag

Russian citizens in the area are now trying to make a little bit of money by selling fragments that they claim to be from the meteorite online. However, Russian police are having none of that and have stepped in and begun to confiscate supposed meteorite fragments listed online. Russian police officials say that they confiscated about 60g of a substance claimed to be meteorite fragments from a Chelyabinsk resident.

Russian police say that they will send the material to be analyzed to determine its composition and determine if it poses any health risks. Officials are asking people not to buy the meteorite fragments because they are being sold without permits or certification. Fragments have turned up online selling for 10,000 to 500,000 rubles (~$330 to $16,600 USD.)

[via Ria.ru]

Meteorite shower crashes into Russia (video)

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Meteorite shower crashes in Russia video

A meteorite shower has crash landed across Russia's Ural region, injuring over 250 900 people and damaging buildings in six cities. Residents in Chelyabinsk reported shaking ground, windows shattering and car alarms going off as the rocks fell to Earth. Officials in the country say that the shower began after a larger meteor disintegrated in the lower atmosphere, causing the fragments to wreak the (currently) non-lethal havoc. If you'd like to compare how wrong (or right) Michael Bay got it in Armageddon, head on past the break for some footage.

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Via: BBC News

Source: Russia Today

Ireland completes spectrum auction after analog shutoff, LTE rollout pegged for mid-2013

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Ireland completes spectrum auction after analog shutoff, LTE rollout pegged for mid2013

The dust has settled after Ireland's recent spectrum auction, and wouldn't you know it, Vodafone, O2, Meteor and Three have picked up a combined 140MHz of paired spectrum across the 800, 900 and 1800MHz bands. According to the country's regulator, ComReg, the auction will effectively double the spectrum available in these bands and will allow for LTE deployment across Éire. For its part, O2 has committed to begin its 4G rollout in the first half of 2013. To ensure quick deployment, all license holders are required to make their new spectrum available to 70 percent of Ireland's population within three years. In all, the companies will pay €855 million ($1.09 billion) for spectrum rights until 2030, of which, €482 million is payable up front. Curiously enough, the country's 800MHz spectrum was freed up just last month after its analog shutoff. To find a complete breakdown of the situation, feel free to hit up the announcement from ComReg at the source link below.

[Thanks, Neil]

[Photo credit: Seattleye / Flickr]

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Ireland completes spectrum auction after analog shutoff, LTE rollout pegged for mid-2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Own a Chunk of the Moon (for about $350K)

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Over the years, people have tried to sell off many artifacts from the Apollo era of space travel. These objects included things like cameras and gloves and at times even little pieces of Moon rock. NASA considers every chunk of Moon rock returned by Apollo astronauts to be government property and has so far barred any sale or gifting to the public.

But as it happens, one of the largest pieces of Moon rock wasn’t returned by any space probe or astronaut, and has now hit the auction block. The rock is a large lunar meteorite called Dar al Gani 1058.  Scientists don’t know exactly when this piece of rock was dislodged from the moon, but it was discovered in Libya in 1998.

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This chunk of Moon rock weighs 4 pounds and is the fourth largest chunk that can be legally owned by the public. The rock is believed to come from the lunar highland breccias on the far side of the moon.

lunar meteorite

This particular piece of rock has an auction starting price of $170,000 (USD), but the auction house projects that the estimated selling price will land somewhere between $340,000 and $380,000 when the auction closes on October 14. The most likely winner the auction is expected to be a museum, but private bidders are also permitted.

[via Huffington Post]


The Great California Meteor Rush is on!

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I watched the Discovery Channel program Meteor Men a few times, certainly enough to understand that little pieces of meteor could be worth big money. On April 22 a gigantic fireball explosion rocked parts of northern California and Nevada. The fireball in the sky was a meteor estimated to have been about 154,300 pounds.

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The explosion heard was a sonic boom of the giant meteor entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Parts of that meteor hit the ground and have already been found by treasure seekers. However, so far only small portions of meteor have been found. Some researchers believe that there have to be large pieces out there waiting to be discovered.

“Only small pieces have been found. There have to be big pieces out there,” SETI Institute meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens said before the trip. “We’re just hoping to collect more meteorites for research.” The photo you see here is a group of NASA researchers heading to a NASA blimp to be used as an aerial platform to search for the meteor fragments. Meteors of this magnitude generally happen once per year around the Earth, but typically they happen in uninhabited areas. This meteor happened to plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere near populated areas and was witnessed by many people.

[via The Telegraph]