Space
Some Popular Meteor Crashing
Nupur Jha
First Posted: Oct 19, 2013 05:49 AM EDT
A huge piece of space rock was pulled out of central Russia's Chebarkul Lake earlier this Wednesday by divers. This rock is a part of the meteorite that exploded over Chelyabinsk on February 15, 2013.
This is one of the largest rocks discovered so far according to the scientists, reports BBC. This massive celestial body is 17 meters in length and weighs around 10,000 tonnes. Thousands were injured in the explosion in central Russia.
This meteorite broke the weighing scale as it crossed the 570kg (1,255lb) mark. It was characterized as a fusion crust by Dr. Caroline Smith, curator of meteorites at London's Natural History Museum.
"Fusion crust forms as the meteoroid is travelling through the atmosphere as a fireball," Dr. Smith told the BBC.
"The outer surface gets so hot it melts the rock to form a dark, glassy surface crust which we term a fusion crust. Regmaglypts are the indentations, that look a bit like thumbprints, also seen on the surface of the meteorite," Dr. Smith added.
Meteorite chunks are nothing but shooting stars, which survive the burns after reaching the surface. There have been other popular meteorite discoveries too, like the Ensisheim Meteorite, which was discovered on November 7, 1492, in a small town called Ensisheim, in France. This ancient rock from the space became the talk of the town after being spotted by a young boy. The inhabitants of the town broke pieces off this 330 pound stone to treasure as souvenirs. Bits of meteorite are still found in various museums worldwide with the biggest piece kept in Ensisheim's Regency Palace, according to a report.
Another meteorite called Tunguska crashed in Russia's Tunguska River in 1908. This century old meteorite has been a matter of debate as it didn't leave an impact crater like a majority of meteorites do.
Hoba Meteorite, which was discovered on a Namibian farm in 1920, was a massive meteorite weighing around 66 tons. This meteorite is believed to have landed more than 80,000 years back. This rock lost around 6 tons of its weight as scientists took its samples for research purposes and it underwent erosion. Presently, it is a source of tourist attraction in Namibia.
Barwell, Britain's largest meteorite showered on Barwell village unexpectedly on Christmas Eve. The museums even offered money in exchange for pieces of this rock. Its fragments can also be found on online sale sites.
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First Posted: Oct 19, 2013 05:49 AM EDT
A huge piece of space rock was pulled out of central Russia's Chebarkul Lake earlier this Wednesday by divers. This rock is a part of the meteorite that exploded over Chelyabinsk on February 15, 2013.
This is one of the largest rocks discovered so far according to the scientists, reports BBC. This massive celestial body is 17 meters in length and weighs around 10,000 tonnes. Thousands were injured in the explosion in central Russia.
This meteorite broke the weighing scale as it crossed the 570kg (1,255lb) mark. It was characterized as a fusion crust by Dr. Caroline Smith, curator of meteorites at London's Natural History Museum.
"Fusion crust forms as the meteoroid is travelling through the atmosphere as a fireball," Dr. Smith told the BBC.
"The outer surface gets so hot it melts the rock to form a dark, glassy surface crust which we term a fusion crust. Regmaglypts are the indentations, that look a bit like thumbprints, also seen on the surface of the meteorite," Dr. Smith added.
Meteorite chunks are nothing but shooting stars, which survive the burns after reaching the surface. There have been other popular meteorite discoveries too, like the Ensisheim Meteorite, which was discovered on November 7, 1492, in a small town called Ensisheim, in France. This ancient rock from the space became the talk of the town after being spotted by a young boy. The inhabitants of the town broke pieces off this 330 pound stone to treasure as souvenirs. Bits of meteorite are still found in various museums worldwide with the biggest piece kept in Ensisheim's Regency Palace, according to a report.
Another meteorite called Tunguska crashed in Russia's Tunguska River in 1908. This century old meteorite has been a matter of debate as it didn't leave an impact crater like a majority of meteorites do.
Hoba Meteorite, which was discovered on a Namibian farm in 1920, was a massive meteorite weighing around 66 tons. This meteorite is believed to have landed more than 80,000 years back. This rock lost around 6 tons of its weight as scientists took its samples for research purposes and it underwent erosion. Presently, it is a source of tourist attraction in Namibia.
Barwell, Britain's largest meteorite showered on Barwell village unexpectedly on Christmas Eve. The museums even offered money in exchange for pieces of this rock. Its fragments can also be found on online sale sites.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone