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Permalink Reply by Central Scrutinizer on February 26, 2013 at 9:10pm

Where exactly did the Russian meteor come from?

A scientific team from Colombia was able to trace back the explosive space rock's origins using "simple trigonometry."

By Chris Gayomali | 4:22pm EST

  

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Scientists estimate the meteor moved throughout the atmosphere at a rate of 13 to 19 kilometers per second.

AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru, Yekaterina Pustynnikova

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It's been nearly two weeks since a blazing meteor suddenly appeared over Russia's Ural region, and exploded seconds later over the city of Chelyabinsk. The destruction it caused is well documented: $33 million in estimated damage, 1,500 injured, and zero fatalities — amazing, considering the fireball detonated with 30 times the force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

But where in heaven's name did the the thing come from to begin with?

Poring over crowd-sourced footage, researchers Jorge Zuluaga and Ignacio Ferrin from the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, were able to use "simple trigonometry to calculate the height, speed, and position of the rock as it fell to Earth," says BBC News. More importantly, the duo was able to find out where Russia's most famous meteor was likely born.

Using astronomy software developed by the U.S. Naval Observatory, Zuluaga and Ferrin gathered enough data to trace the meteoroid's origins in outer space. The information included the meteor's relative angle to the horizon, the shadows it cast, and video timestamps of the rock's screaming descent. 

Based on its trajectory and speed — zipping through the atmosphere at an estimated rate of 13 to 19 kilometers per second — the Russian meteor appears to have originated from the Apollo family of asteroids, which are "well-known near-Earth asteroids that cross the orbit of Earth," says Discovery News:

Around 5,200 Apollo asteroids are currently known, the largest being 1866 Sisyphus — a 10 kilometer-wide monster that was discovered in 1972. Large Apollos are identified as being a significant risk to our planet, so the Chelyabinsk meteoroid acted like an Apollo warning shot. [Discovery News]

MORE SPACE ROCK STORY

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Permalink Reply by Less Prone on February 27, 2013 at 6:03am

"It is a great pity that a man like Zhirinovsky has gained credibility among the political elite of Russia, a civilised and powerful country which is friendly to Azerbaijan. It certainly doesn't honour those who create the conditions for the emergence of politicians like Zhirinovsky whose clown type performances, behaviour externally, statements and political programmes make him a real clown"

Fikret Sadikhov 23 February 2012

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