Chelyabinsk Meteor Explosion

Date: February 15, 2013 • Location: Gorod Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation

A meteor exploded (video featured) over Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, producing a shock wave that injured about 1,500 people.

The Chelyabinsk meteor was a superbolide that entered Earth's atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on 15 February 2013 at about 09:20 YEKT. It was caused by an approximately 18-meter (60 ft), 9,100-tonne (10,000-short-ton) near-Earth asteroid that entered the atmosphere at a shallow 18‐degree angle with a speed relative to Earth of about 19.2 km/s. The light from the meteor was briefly brighter than the Sun, visible as far as 100 kilometers away. It was observed in a wide area of the region and in neighbouring republics. Some eyewitnesses also reported feeling intense heat from the fireball.