Recently there was a meteorite fall. The largest meteorites that fell to Earth (22 photos)

The Ural meteorite distracted scientists for some time from another space object - an asteroid, which is approaching the Earth at these moments. According to calculations, it will approach its minimum distance to our planet at 23:20 Moscow time. This unique event will be broadcast live on NASA's website. Residents of Asia and Australia, as well as possibly some areas, will be able to see the asteroid of Eastern Europe.

In a little more than 2 hours, the DA14 object will pass by the Earth at a distance of 28 thousand kilometers - this is closer than some satellites fly. If this asteroid weighing 130 tons and with a diameter of 45 meters collided with our planet, the explosion would be equal to one thousand Hiroshimas. There was even an assumption that the meteorite that fell in the Urals could be part of this space monster and that other, larger ones would follow it. However, most scientists do not see a connection with the DA14 asteroid and the Ural meteorite.

“As for whether Armageddon threatens us or not, it is now known for certain. All asteroids larger than one kilometer in diameter that bring such a catastrophe to the Earth on a large scale, they are all known and have well-known orbits, they are all cataloged and observed There is no danger from them,” assured Lidia Rykhlova, head of the space astrometry department at the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

While they were monitoring the large asteroid, they overlooked the meteorite that fell in the Urals. However, it was almost impossible to see it before entering the atmosphere - neither civilian observatories nor missile defense radars can do this - the size is too small and the speed is too high. The military says that even if such a meteorite is discovered, modern air defense systems are not yet capable of destroying such objects. Already in retrospect, scientists derived data from a celestial body that had already fallen in the Urals - mass several tons, speed 15 kilometers per second, angle of incidence - 45 degrees, shock wave power - several kilotons. At an altitude of 50 kilometers, the object collapsed into 3 parts and almost completely burned up in the atmosphere.

“No more than 10 meters in diameter, it flew at supersonic speed and therefore generated a shock wave. This shock wave caused all this destruction, people were injured not by meteorite fragments, but by the shock wave. Now, if a supersonic plane would have passed on the same altitude, for example, God forbid above Moscow, the destruction would have been the same,” said the deputy director of the State Astronomical Institute. Sternberg Sergey Lamzin.

Any space object that reaches the Earth's atmosphere and leaves a trace in it is called a meteorite by scientists. As a rule, they are small in size and, moving in the air at a speed of several kilometers per second, completely burn out. And yet, about 5 tons of cosmic matter fall to Earth every day in the form of dust and small grains of sand. Almost all space guests come to us from the so-called asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

“A kind of trash heap of the Solar system, where all the debris is concentrated. Collisions between asteroids occur in this belt. As a result, certain debris is formed that can acquire an orbit that intersects the orbit of the Earth,” said Mikhail Nazarov.

However, some scientists believe that it was not a meteorite that fell near Chelyabinsk. They are confident that no one will ever find any debris, just as the fragments of the Tunguska meteorite were not found. We are most likely talking about a cooled comet, which consists of frozen gases.

“If the nucleus of a first-generation comet invades the Earth, then it burns up almost completely in the Earth’s atmosphere, and it is impossible to find any remains on the surface. This is similar to the Tunguska phenomenon, when no remains of the body were found, but there was a large fall of forest over a large area and the trees were all heavily charred,” said Vladislav Leonov, a researcher at the Department of Space Astrometry at the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Nevertheless, the search for meteorite remains near Chelyabinsk continues. At the same time, not only rescuers and scientists are searching; now dozens of meteorite hunters have already rushed to the area of the supposed fall. The price of some of them on the black market can reach several thousand rubles per gram.

Cosmic bodies are constantly falling onto our planet. Some of them are the size of a grain of sand, others can weigh several hundred kilograms and even tons. Canadian scientists from the Ottawa Astrophysical Institute claim that a meteor shower falls on Earth every year total mass more than 21 tons, and individual meteorites weigh from a few grams to 1 ton.
In this article we will recall the 10 largest meteorites that fell to Earth.

Sutter Mill meteorite, April 22, 2012

This meteorite, named Sutter Mill, appeared on Earth on April 22, 2012, moving at a breakneck speed of 29 km/sec. It flew over the states of Nevada and California, scattering its hot ones, and exploded over Washington. The power of the explosion was about 4 kilotons of TNT. For comparison, the power of yesterday's meteorite explosion when it fell on Chelyabinsk was 300 tons of TNT equivalent. Scientists have found that the Sutter Mill meteorite appeared in the early days of the existence of our solar system, and the progenitor cosmic body was formed over 4566.57 million years ago. Fragments of the Sutter Mill meteorite:

Meteor shower in China, February 11, 2012

Almost a year ago, on February 11, 2012, about a hundred meteorite stones fell over an area of 100 km in one of the regions of China. The largest meteorite found weighed 12.6 kg. The meteorites are believed to have come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Meteorite from Peru, September 15, 2007

This meteorite fell in Peru near Lake Titicaca, near the border with Bolivia. Eyewitnesses claimed that at first there was a strong noise, similar to the sound of a falling plane, but then they saw a falling body engulfed in fire. A bright trail from a white-hot cosmic body entering the Earth's atmosphere is called a meteor.

At the site of the fall, the explosion formed a crater with a diameter of 30 and a depth of 6 meters, from which a fountain of boiling water began to flow. The meteorite probably contained toxic substances, as 1,500 people living nearby began to experience severe headaches.Meteorite crash site in Peru:

By the way, most often stone meteorites (92.8%), consisting mainly of silicates, fall to Earth. The meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk was iron, according to first estimates. Fragments of the Peruvian meteorite:

Kunya-Urgench meteorite from Turkmenistan, June 20, 1998

The meteorite fell near the Turkmen city of Kunya-Urgench, hence its name. Before the fall, residents saw a bright light. The largest part of the meteorite, weighing 820 kg, fell into a cotton field, creating a crater about 5 meters.

This one, more than 4 billion years old, received a certificate from the International Meteorite Society and is considered the largest stone meteorite of all that fell in the CIS and the third in the world. Fragment of a Turkmen meteorite:

Meteorite Sterlitamak, May 17, 1990

The Sterlitamak iron meteorite weighing 315 kg fell on a state farm field 20 km west of the city of Sterlitamak on the night of May 17-18, 1990. When a meteorite fell, a crater with a diameter of 10 meters was formed. First, small metal fragments were found, and only a year later, at a depth of 12 meters, the largest fragment weighing 315 kg was found. Now the meteorite (0.5 x 0.4 x 0.25 meters) is in the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of the Ufa Scientific Center Russian Academy Sci. Fragments of a meteorite. On the left is the same fragment weighing 315 kg:

Largest meteor shower, China, March 8, 1976

In March 1976, the largest meteorite rock shower in the world occurred in the Chinese province of Jilin, lasting 37 minutes. Cosmic bodies fell to the ground at a speed of 12 km/sec. Fantasy on the theme of meteorites:

Then they found about a hundred meteorites, including the largest - the 1.7-ton Jilin (Girin) meteorite.

These are the stones that fell from the sky onto China for 37 minutes:

Meteorite Sikhote-Alin, Far East, February 12, 1947

A meteorite fell on Far East in the Ussuri taiga in the Sikhote-Alin mountains on February 12, 1947. It fragmented in the atmosphere and fell in the form of iron rain over an area of 10 sq. km.

After the fall, more than 30 craters were formed with a diameter of 7 to 28 m and a depth of up to 6 meters. About 27 tons of meteorite material were collected. Fragments of “piece of iron” that fell from the sky during a meteor shower:

Goba meteorite, Namibia, 1920

Meet Goba - the largest meteorite ever found! Strictly speaking, it fell approximately 80,000 years ago. This iron giant weighs about 66 tons and has a volume of 9 cubic meters. fell in prehistoric times and was found in Namibia in 1920 near Grootfontein.

The Goba meteorite is mainly composed of iron and is considered the heaviest of all celestial bodies of this genus that ever appeared on Earth. It is preserved at a crash site in southwest Africa, Namibia, near Goba West Farm. This is also the largest piece of naturally occurring iron on Earth. Since 1920, the meteorite has shrunk slightly: erosion, scientific research and vandalism have taken their toll: the meteorite has “lost weight” to 60 tons.

The mystery of the Tunguska meteorite, 1908

On June 30, 1908, at about 07 a.m., a large fireball flew over the territory of the Yenisei basin from southeast to northwest. The flight ended with an explosion at an altitude of 7-10 km above an uninhabited taiga region. The blast wave circled twice Earth and was recorded by observatories around the world. The power of the explosion is estimated at 40-50 megatons, which corresponds to the energy of the most powerful hydrogen bomb. The flight speed of the space giant was tens of kilometers per second. Weight - from 100 thousand to 1 million tons!

Podkamennaya Tunguska River area:

As a result of the explosion, trees were knocked down over an area of more than 2,000 square meters. km, window glass in houses was broken several hundred kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion. The blast wave destroyed animals and injured people within a radius of about 40 km. For several days, intense sky glow and luminous clouds were observed from the Atlantic to central Siberia.

Despite the colossal scale of the Universe, processes constantly occur in it that influence cosmic bodies. Galaxies move towards each other, stars are born and die. Humanity watches such major cataclysms on a universal scale from the sidelines. All this is happening far from us and threatens us only theoretically. The threat from events occurring in near space looks much more serious.

Meteorites, comets and asteroids - these space wanderers rushing into outer space at a speed of 20 or more kilometers per second, have enormous destructive force. The collision of the Earth with such a cosmic body has catastrophic consequences for our world, including the destruction of life on Earth. There is a lot of evidence about such visits in the distant past of our planet, but this process continues today.

What are space meteorites?

During its formation, the solar system was a giant construction site. After the formation of planets, a huge amount of construction debris remained in outer space, representing solid fragments of various sizes. Larger formations became comets and asteroids. Large asteroids have astrophysical parameters similar to planetary ones. Small asteroids are eternal wanderers, constantly exposed to the influence of larger celestial bodies in the solar system.

Periodically, the flight routes of these space hulks intersect with the orbit of planets, which threatens a dangerous encounter or a catastrophic collision. The scale and consequences of such a date can be very different. For Earth, the most harmless option for such a meeting is the flight of a meteor, which lines the night sky with a swift, bright spark. In ancient times, few people realized that a falling star was often accompanied by the fall of meteorites to the surface of the Earth. Today we know that meteor flights can leave marks on the face of the planet. Thousands of meteorites constantly fall on it, and other planets also experience similar external influences.

Such gifts most often fall on the surface of our planet during the close passage of a meteor shower through the Earth’s orbit. While everyone is watching the starfall in the sky with delight, thousands of small meteors fall into the Earth's atmosphere. The meteor shower of 1833 caused panic throughout the northern part of the Western Hemisphere. The reason for this unprecedented for earthlings astronomical event became the Leonid meteor shower through which our planet flew. As a result, almost all over the United States there was meteor Rain. Today, scientists have established the frequency of the Earth's encounter with this meteor shower. Every 33 years, our planet intersects with this stream in the Universe, so the rain of 1833 can happen again. The last such meeting took place in 1998.

A cosmic body falling into the dense layers of the Earth's atmosphere is destroyed. The ice melts and evaporates, and large fragments are the remains of this swift guest, reaching the surface of the earth, becoming meteorites.

On this moment It is customary to distinguish the following types of meteorites:

stone celestial bodies;
iron meteorites.

Scientists, having received a particle or fragment of such a guest that fell to Earth, can judge from which building material the universe was built. Until spacecraft The soil of other planets was not explored, and people did not get their hands on samples of lunar rock; meteorites were the only sources of information about cosmic matter.

The bulk of celestial bodies that fell on our planet are stone meteorites. These objects can have different sizes, ranging from the largest meteorites to the smallest - the size of a pea.

What does a meteorite look like? As a rule, such space guests most often have irregular shape and resemble a huge block of stone. Literally, “meteorite” is translated from ancient Greek as “stone from the sky.”

Less commonly, meteorites made of iron (up to 40% nickel) arrive on Earth. These visitors are smaller in size and made of pure iron, cosmic origin, whose age is 4.5-5.5 billion years. Modern science is based on data and research of space material brought to us from deep space over a 200-year history. The impacts of larger meteorites are constantly being studied, providing insight into what human civilization may encounter in the future.

Astrophysical parameters of meteorites

Meteorites are usually divided into two types: fallen and found. The first are astrophysical phenomena recorded in our sky during their fall. The second refers to objects that were found by a person by chance. The first type may be of greatest interest to science. By recording the flight of a meteorite and knowing exactly where it fell, scientists can obtain a huge amount of information. A found fragment of a meteorite or a whole fragment gives an idea of the composition of the meteorite and the age of this guest.

Celestial objects that were discovered by man as a result of his life activity can be encountered quite often. Every day, 5-6 tons of meteorites fly to the surface of our planet from space. Usually these visitors are small in size, but there are specimens weighing up to one kilogram. In most cases, the meteorites found are pieces of iron.

In this context, the size of the meteorite is also important. The larger the cosmic body rushing towards Earth, the higher the likelihood of its inevitable collision with our blue planet.

The largest meteorite that came from space and was found by man is Goba. This is a huge iron block with a volume of 9m³.

The enormous speed of the meteorite leads to the fact that stone celestial bodies are destroyed when falling. Iron pieces are able to fly to our planet, retaining their bulk.

The fall of a meteorite is an interesting astrophysical phenomenon. Meteorites that reach the earth's atmosphere rush at a speed of 20-30 km/s. The speed of the meteorite reaching the surface of the planet is correspondingly the same, but the flight itself is fleeting and lasts no more than 10-15 seconds.

One can only imagine what the falling speed of the meteorite was that left behind the famous Arizona crater. The famous Yucatan crater is the trace of the largest meteorite that fell on our planet in ancient times. The crash site is a depression with a diameter of 180 km, which was discovered from images obtained from space. It is difficult to imagine what the threat of a collision between the Earth and a space object of this size would be. modern conditions. It is possible that this was the same meteorite that put an end to dinosaurs as an entire species.

The mass of a cosmic body, multiplied by the speed with which it rushes towards the Earth, gives the meteorite colossal destructive power. The energy of a meteorite is measured in tons of TNT equivalent.

The power of the explosion of the Tunguska meteorite, which exploded in the area of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River (Eastern Siberia) on June 30, 1908, is estimated by scientists at 40-50 megatons of TNT. According to approximate data, the mass of the meteorite was more than 100 thousand tons. As a result of the explosion, a meteorite or other celestial body exploded in the air, but the force of the explosion was such that the shock wave circled the planet twice.

The composition of the meteorite (iron or silicates), the angle of incidence and its size determine the behavior of the celestial body in the earth's atmosphere. The surface of the meteorite (crust) is under the influence high temperatures caused by the effect of friction on the layers of the earth's atmosphere. An object can also collapse in the atmosphere under the influence of geomagnetic fields and the force of gravity. Flying through the air layer, the celestial body loses 10-19% of its original mass. Such air explosions occur quite often in the earth's atmosphere. A huge amount of small particles and fragments fall onto the Earth, without causing much destruction or devastation. A large meteorite is likely to reach earth's crust, causing natural destruction with its fall. All known meteorites have left behind traces that are scattered throughout the globe. The size of meteorite craters indicates the size of space aliens.

It is difficult to predict where the next alien will fall and what its behavior will be during the flight. NASA astrophysics laboratory specialists have created a simulation of the behavior of a meteorite. This model allows us to obtain preliminary accurate data on where the next space guest may fall and what to expect from such a meeting.

The most famous and studied space meteorites

Modern science has sufficient quantity collected data on meteorites that visited our planet. Data on prehistoric guests are anthropological and geological in nature. More recent data on the fall of meteorites on our planet already has informative and more accurate scientific potential.

Of the most famous meteorites that fell in modern times and have been subjected to detailed study, the first place is occupied by Tunguska meteorite. Over the past 110 years since the collision, this space disaster considered the largest. Scientists admit that if this body had fallen to the surface of the Earth, the history of human civilization could have taken a different path.

The consequences of the collision are striking in their scale. Despite the absence of a crater, the area around the explosion of the celestial body suffered terrible devastation. During the week after the fall, unusual phenomena occurred in the Earth's atmosphere. The aurora was observed in the southern latitudes, and glowing clouds stood overhead.

Smaller meetings with space guests include the following:

the fall of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite in February 1947;
a meteor shower in 1976 that showered several provinces of China at once;
the fall of an iron meteorite in the area of Lake Sterlitamak in May 1990.

Collisions between the Earth and meteorites occur regularly. With the advent modern means tracking, it became possible to track the flights of cosmic bodies falling to the ground and quickly identify the places of their fall.

Video recording tools made it possible to capture a large-scale astronomical spectacle in 2007, when a large celestial body fell on the territory of Peru. This meteorite left behind a crater with a diameter of 20 meters. The next meteor shower in China, which took place in February 2012, looked no less impressive. After it, more than 30 craters of various sizes were discovered. The arrival of the Sutter Mill meteorite in 2012 could have been a major catastrophe of our time. This object exploded in the air at an altitude of 100 km and covered the entire Midwest of the United States with its debris.

The meteorite that fell in Russia near Chelyabinsk on February 15, 2013 is interesting. The cosmic body did not reach the surface of the planet and collapsed several kilometers above the city. It was not possible to determine the exact location where this object fell. Fragments and debris of the celestial body scattered over a vast area.

Finally

The meeting of our planet with space objects carries a certain threat. Mathematical model solar system, compiled by astrophysicists in last years, allows us to hope that in the near future we are not threatened with a catastrophic visit by space guests. It cannot be said that earthlings are insured against similar disasters in the future. The Universe is in constant motion and the situation in space can change. Whether the sky will be so calm in the future, time will tell.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

Cosmic bodies are constantly falling onto our planet. Some of them are the size of a grain of sand, others can weigh several hundred kilograms and even tons. Canadian scientists from the Ottawa Astrophysical Institute claim that a meteorite shower with a total mass of more than 21 tons falls on Earth per year, and individual meteorites weigh from a few grams to 1 ton.

In this article we will recall the 10 largest meteorites that fell to Earth.

Sutter Mill meteorite, April 22, 2012

This meteorite, named Sutter Mill, appeared near the Earth on April 22, 2012, moving at a breakneck speed of 29 km/sec. It flew over the states of Nevada and California, scattering its hot fragments, and exploded over Washington. The power of the explosion was about 4 kilotons of TNT. For comparison, yesterday's power was 300 kilotons of TNT.

Scientists have found that the Sutter Mill meteorite appeared in the early days of its existence, and the progenitor cosmic body was formed over 4566.57 million years ago.

Meteorite from Peru, September 15, 2007

A bright trail from a white-hot cosmic body entering the Earth's atmosphere is called a meteor.

By the way, most often stone meteorites (92.8%), consisting mainly of silicates, fall to Earth. , was made of iron, according to first estimates.

Kunya-Urgench meteorite from Turkmenistan, June 20, 1998

This one, more than 4 billion years old, has received a certificate from the International Meteor Society and is considered the largest among stone meteorites of all that fell in the CIS and the third in the world.

Fragment of a Turkmen meteorite:

Meteorite Sterlitamak, May 17, 1990

Iron meteorite Sterlitamak weighing 315 kg fell on a state farm field 20 km west of the city of Sterlitamak on the night of May 17-18, 1990. When a meteorite fell, a crater with a diameter of 10 meters was formed.

First, small metal fragments were found, and only a year later, at a depth of 12 meters, the largest fragment weighing 315 kg was found. Now the meteorite (0.5 x 0.4 x 0.25 meters) is in the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of the Ufa Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Fragments of a meteorite. On the left is the same fragment weighing 315 kg:

Largest meteor shower, China, March 8, 1976

In March 1976, the largest meteorite rock shower in the world occurred in the Chinese province of Jilin, lasting 37 minutes. Cosmic bodies fell to the ground at a speed of 12 km/sec.

Fantasy on the theme of meteorites:

Then they found about a hundred meteorites, including the largest - the 1.7-ton Jilin (Girin) meteorite.

These are the stones that fell from the sky onto China for 37 minutes:

Meteorite Sikhote-Alin, Far East, February 12, 1947

The meteorite fell in the Far East in the Ussuri taiga in the Sikhote-Alin mountains on February 12, 1947. It fragmented in the atmosphere and fell in the form of iron rain over an area of 10 sq. km.

After the fall, more than 30 craters were formed with a diameter of 7 to 28 m and a depth of up to 6 meters. About 27 tons of meteorite material were collected.

Fragments of “piece of iron” that fell from the sky during a meteor shower:

Goba meteorite, Namibia, 1920

Meet Goba - largest meteorite found! Strictly speaking, it fell about 80,000 years ago. This iron giant weighs about 66 tons and has a volume of 9 cubic meters. fell in prehistoric times and was found in Namibia in 1920 near Grootfontein.

The Goba meteorite is mainly composed of iron and is considered the heaviest of all celestial bodies of this kind that have ever appeared on Earth. It is preserved at a crash site in southwest Africa, Namibia, near Goba West Farm. This is also the largest piece of naturally occurring iron on Earth. Since 1920, the meteorite has shrunk slightly: erosion, scientific research and vandalism have taken their toll: the meteorite has “lost weight” to 60 tons.

The mystery of the Tunguska meteorite, 1908

The power of the explosion is estimated at 40-50 megatons, which corresponds to the energy of the most powerful hydrogen bomb. The flight speed of the space giant was tens of kilometers per second. Weight - from 100 thousand to 1 million tons!

Podkamennaya Tunguska River area:

But what was it? If it was a meteorite, then a huge crater half a kilometer deep should have appeared at the site of its fall. But none of the expeditions succeeded in finding him...

The Tunguska meteorite is, on the one hand, one of the most well-studied phenomena, on the other hand, one of the most mysterious phenomena of the past century. The celestial body exploded in the air and no remains of it, except for the consequences of the explosion, were found on the ground.

Meteor shower of 1833

On the night of November 13, 1833 over eastern territory There was a meteor shower in the USA. It continued continuously for 10 hours! During this time, about 240,000 meteorites of various sizes fell to the Earth's surface. The source of the 1833 meteorite shower was the most powerful one known. meteor showers. This shower is now called the Leonids after the constellation Leo, against which it is visible every year in mid-November. On a much more modest scale, of course.

Our planet is surrounded a huge amount a variety of celestial bodies. Small ones, when falling to Earth, go unnoticed, but the fall of larger ones, weighing up to several hundred kilograms and even tons, leaves various consequences. Scientists from the Canadian Astrophysical Institute in Ottawa claim that a meteorite shower with a total weight of more than 20 tons hits the Earth's surface every year. The weight of individual meteorites ranges from several grams to tons.

(23 photos of meteorites + video)

The largest meteorites that fell on Earth

On April 22, 2012, a celestial body appeared near the surface of the Earth, moving from enormous speed. Flying over the US states of Nevada and California, scattering hot particles, the meteorite exploded in the sky over Washington. The power of the explosion was about 4 kilotons of TNT, which is almost eighty times less than the power of the explosion. Research by scientists has established that the Sutter Mill meteorite was formed during the formation of the solar system.

A year has already passed since February 2012, when hundreds of meteorite rocks fell over an area of 100 km in China. Eyewitnesses still remember this extraordinary event. The largest meteorite found weighed 12.6 kg.

Near Lake Titicaca in Peru, in the fall of 2007, a meteorite fell, which eyewitnesses observed as a falling body engulfed in fire. The fall of the meteorite was accompanied by a loud noise, reminiscent of the sound of a falling plane.

At the crash site, a crater 6 m deep and 30 m in diameter formed, from which a fountain erupted hot water. The consequences of the meteorite fall are still felt by local residents.

Most likely, the celestial body contained toxic substances; 1,500 people living in the area closest to the crash site suffer from severe headaches.

In the summer of 1998, a meteorite fell near the Turkmen city of Kunya-Urgench, which received the name of the city. The fall of the celestial body was accompanied by a bright light. At the site where the largest meteorite fragment (weighing 820 kg) fell, a five-meter crater formed. Fortunately, none of local residents was not injured, the meteorite fell on a cotton field.

Scientists have established the age of the Turkmen meteorite - more than 4 billion years, this is the largest among the stone meteorites that fell on the territory of the CIS. Among all the known stone meteorites that fell to Earth, Kunya-Urgench is the third largest. Stone meteorites most often fall to Earth, their share is almost 93% of all types of celestial bodies that fell on the planet. Chelyabinsk meteorite, according to the first estimates of scientists, was iron.

Meteorite Sterlitamak, 1990

On the night of May 17, 1990, a celestial body weighing 315 kilograms fell 20 kilometers from Sterlitamak. The meteorite, called Sterlitamak, left a crater with a diameter of 10 meters at the site of its impact on a state farm field. The largest fragment was not found immediately, but only a year later, at a depth of 12 meters. Nowadays it is an exhibit of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography. The meteorite, weighing 315 kilograms, has dimensions of 0.5x0.4x0.25 meters.

In March 1976, the largest shower of rock meteorites in history occurred in the Chinese province of Jilin. The fall of cosmic bodies to Earth continued for 37 minutes, the speed of the fall reached 12 kilometers per second. About a hundred meteorites were found, the largest of which was named Jilin (Girin), weighing 1.7 tons.

In the winter of 1947, a meteorite fell in the form of iron rain in the Far Eastern Ussuri taiga in the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Having fragmented in the atmosphere as a result of the explosion, the meteorite turned into many fragments that fell over an area of 10 sq. km. In places where the debris fell, more than 30 craters were formed, from 7 to 28 m in diameter, up to 6 m deep.

About 27 tons of meteorite debris were found over a vast area.

The largest one today known to science meteorites is called Goba. An iron giant with a volume of 9 cubic meters and weighing almost 66 tons fell to the surface of the Earth in prehistoric times. After lying on Earth for approximately 80,000 years, in 1920 the meteorite was found in Namibia.

The Goba meteorite is the heaviest of all cosmic bodies that has ever hit the surface of our planet. It consists mainly of iron. Now it is the largest piece of naturally occurring iron on Earth. It still lies in Namibia, southwest Africa. Since its discovery, the meteorite has lost almost 6 tons in weight as a result scientific research, erosion and vandal invasions. Now it weighs 60 tons.

The mysterious Tunguska meteorite is considered one of the most studied on the planet, but continues to remain the most mysterious phenomenon of the beginning of the last century. On June 30, 1908, in the early morning, a giant fireball flew over the territory of the Yenisei River basin. Over an uninhabited taiga region, the object exploded at an altitude of 7-10 km. The blast wave circled the globe twice and was so powerful that it was recorded by all observatories in the world.

The power of the explosion of the Tunguska meteorite is equal to the energy of the most powerful hydrogen bomb - 40-50 kilotons. The space giant, presumably weighing from 100 thousand tons to 1 million tons, rushed at speeds of tens of kilometers per second.

The blast wave felled trees over an area of more than 200 sq. km, and window panes were broken in houses. Within a radius of 40 kilometers, animals died and people were injured. After the explosion, an intense glow of the sky and clouds was observed over a vast area for several days.

The answer to the question: what was that? - still no. If the fireball was a meteorite, then a gigantic crater with a depth of at least 500 m should have appeared at the crash site. But in all subsequent years it was never found. The Tunguska meteorite remains a mystery of the 20th century. The celestial body exploded in the air, the consequences were colossal, and no remains or debris were ever found on Earth.

Meteor Shower, USA, 1833

On an autumn November night in 1833, a meteorite rained over the United States. For 10 hours, meteorites of various sizes fell on the surface of the Earth, total number which exceeded 240,000. The source of this phenomenon was the most powerful of the currently known meteor showers, which is called Leonids.

About two dozen meteorite showers pass near the Earth every day. Scientists know about 50 comets that theoretically have the potential to cross the Earth's orbit. About once every ten years the Earth collides with relatively small cosmic bodies. Despite the fact that the movement of celestial bodies has been quite well studied and predicted, the next collision of a meteorite with the surface of the Earth is always mysterious and amazing phenomenon for the majority of the planet's inhabitants.

HD Video of Meteor Shower