Chelyabinsk State Museum of Local History

The largest piece of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, about 650 kilograms, lifted from the bed of Lake Chebarkul.

Key facts

Where

Chelyabinsk, Russia

Kind

Museum

Visiting

Public galleries

On 15 February 2013 an asteroid about 20 metres across exploded in the air over Chelyabinsk in the Urals. The shock wave broke windows across the city and injured about 1,500 people, mostly with flying glass. Thousands of fragments fell over a wide area.

The largest piece punched a hole about 8 metres wide in the ice of Lake Chebarkul, west of the city. In October 2013 divers raised it from the lake bed. It broke as it was being weighed, but together the pieces came to about 650 kilograms. The mass went on display in the Chelyabinsk State Museum of Local History, where it can be seen today, along with other fragments and an exhibition about the event. Chelyabinsk is an LL5 ordinary chondrite.

Highlights

• Chelyabinsk the 650-kilogram Chebarkul mass LL5

Related pages

Opening times, what is on display and access to research collections change over time, so check with the institution before you visit.