Wounded: This woman suffered cuts across her face when the sonic boom of the meteor sent broken glass flying
The burst of light and thunderous sound were caused by a 40-ton meteor penetrating the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 33,000mph. As it raced through the sky, the 50-foot wide chunk of space rock compressed the air ahead of it, creating the enormous temperatures that meant it exploded in a fireball somewhere between 18 and 32 miles above the ground at around 9.20am local time.
Although some debris fell to earth, ‘whipping up a pillar of ice, water and steam’ and creating a 20-foot-wide crater, the damage in nearby towns was actually caused by shockwaves created by the meteor breaking the sound barrier and then exploding.
Share [4]
Links:
[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279020/Russian-meteor-shower-Fireball-outer-space-1-000-injured-40-ton-meteor-travelling-33-000mph-explodes-terrified-town.html#ixzz2L1PESM9l
[2] http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline
[3] http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail
[4] http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=questministries