Chelyabinsk, 2013
The airburst that injured about 1,500 people, filmed from every angle.
Key facts
- When
- 15 February 2013, 09.20 local time
- Where
- Over Chelyabinsk region, southern Urals, Russia
- What hit
- about 18 to 20 m across, weighing about 12,000 tonnes
- Era
- The sensor age, 2000 onwards
- Location
- 54.80° N, 61.10° E
About 400 to 500 kilotons of TNT, released mostly about 25 to 30 km up.
About 30 Hiroshima bombs: the largest airburst since Tunguska.
What happened
Shortly after sunrise on 15 February 2013, a small asteroid entered the atmosphere over the southern Urals at about 19 km per second, travelling at a shallow angle. For a few seconds it became brighter than the Sun, casting moving shadows across the snow.
It broke apart in a series of flashes about 25 to 30 km up. People rushed to their windows to look at the strange trail in the sky. Around a minute and a half later, the shock wave arrived.
Because many Russian drivers use dashboard cameras, the fireball and its aftermath were recorded on hundreds of videos, giving scientists an unprecedented record of an airburst.
Effects
The blast broke windows in more than 7,000 buildings across the region. About 1,500 people sought medical help, mostly for cuts from flying glass; no one was killed. Thousands of stones fell to the south-west, and a piece of about 650 kg was lifted from the bed of Lake Chebarkul later that year, after making a hole about 7 m across in the ice.
The evidence
Videos, satellite images of the dust trail, infrasound recorded around the world, seismic signals and the meteorites, an LL5 ordinary chondrite.
Did you know?
Chelyabinsk was not seen before it arrived, because it came from the direction of the Sun.
On the same day, a separate, larger asteroid, 2012 DA14, passed Earth at a distance of about 28,000 km. The two were unrelated.
Related pages
How is impact energy measured? See energy explained, or try the impact calculator.