Earth Hit by Bright Asteroid over Russia with a Bang! Watch Video of the Space Rock
The fast fireball produced smoke trail that remained visible for quite some time and the event was captured in a video which eventually gained a lot of attention.
There are countless asteroids in this solar system and the astronomers try to keep track of as many as they can. In the very recent time again, our planet has been hit by an asteroid with a bang. On June 21, a bright space rock was spotted over several Russian cities including Lipetsk in the southeast of Moscow. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) explained the object to be four metres wide, not large enough to cause any damage to Earth. The fast fireball produced smoke trail that remained visible for quite some time. This event was captured in a video which eventually gained a lot of attention.
A witness wrote on Twitter, “That was beautiful.” The International Meteor Organization (IMO) stated that few individuals reported to hear loud ‘sonic boom’. Again, media reports are claiming that the explosion have injured around 1,500 people and damaged over 7,000 buildings. It was first detected by the United States Government sensors which are designed to sense nuclear explosions after it exploded. NASA speculates that the meteor was moving at about 32,000 miles per hour when it blasted about 16.7 miles above the surface of the planet.
Watch video of the space rock travelling over Russian cities.
Since fireballs are regular occurrence, in last week, NASA released an 18-page document titled, “National near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan”. They stated in the report that there are thousands of asteroids which have not been detected yet. Till date, the astronomy experts have discovered over 18,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2018 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).