Over a thousand injured in Russian Meteor strike

As we gear up tonight for a close encounter with a significant asteroid the size of half a football pitch which will fly past us closer than some orbiting satellites, footage is emerging from Central Russia and the Ural Mountain District of a Meteo strike!

The footage shows a meteor trailing across the sky with a condensation cloud following. The meteor is thought to have burnt up but a sonic boom followed with over a thousand people being injured from shattering glass as the pressure waves and ground shook.A fireball was seen streaking through the clear morning sky above the city of Yekaterinburg, followed by loud bangs. However, it is reported that a small fragment of meteorite hit an unpopulated region.

 

The video below shows some of the footage of the meteorite flying across the sky and some other videos show the loud bang which followed. Which strikes me the most is the change in light as the meteor falls to Earth, it brightens the sky so very brightly and on occasions seems to dim the light also!

 

 

However, Tonight from 7.30 (now) for a few hours a large asteroid the size of half a football field will graze past the Earth. It will be even closer than some geostationary satellites and is the largest object to be predicted to just miss Earth! For regions in darkness, it should remain visible until about midnight through good binoculars or a telescope. The likelihood of a worldwide disaster if the asteroid did hit is very unlikely, it would likely affect a smaller region but would still cause considerable damage! However, the asteroid is not expected to hit.

 

The meteorite in Russia is not connected to the larger asteroid and has been claimed to be a cosmic coincidence. Whatever, it sure has been an exciting day for Extra Terrestrial Objects.