Chelyabinsk Meteor

Speaking of mysterious meteors, how about the Tunguska event? I just saw something about it in lol History Today (today), this part was particularly ~striking~

The Tunguska damage was incredible. Huge numbers of people apparently thought the world was ending.

This might inspire me to finish off the last third of Sorokin's Ice trilogy.

Thank you! I will admit that I had never heard of it before today, but it sounds like there's no $ to figure out what actually happened because who cares/1908 but wouldn't it be kind of nice to know what happened? Just in case, I dunno, it ever happens again?

(Not that I expect anyone to throw government money at such a project, but you'd think there might be a wealthy oligarch/mafiyoso/benefactor out there looking to unload some cash in exchange for some scientific research?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event

I think part of the problem was that it exploded before impact so there's not a great deal left to find. The area it destroyed was comfortably bigger than London but it was mostly just flattened / burned trees remaining.

I'm just saying that it would be nice to at least try to figure out what could have happened? Is it really a complete waste of time? If so, I'm surprised more people aren't throwing research money at it, ha.

I read a sci fi book called Singularity by Bill DeSmedt where the Tunguska event was caused by a microscopic black hole. It was pretty cool. He then did a podcast exploring the various theories about what the Tunguska event could have been called "Dr. Jack's Soapbox Seminars" which was also neat.

Probably going to screw this up, but:

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/02/relative_positions_asteroid_near_Earth_Scott_Manly_Armagh-Observatory_2-13-2013.png

Saw this yesterday. Thought it was cool.

very cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdoKEFsemvw

Remember this scare back in '04? Freaking 325 mile diameter!

http://www.examiner.com/article/nasa-says-don-t-worry-about-the-asteroid-apophis-striking-earth-2036

Wait, is that right? I remember the asteroid that hit during the end of the dinosaurs was only 6.5 miles in diameter.

6.5 miles? A mere skittle!

lol. Still trying to figure out if Apophis is really that freaking big. I saw two websites that confirmed the 325 mile diameter, and one that said it was the size of three football fields, so...

wow, those football fields must be huge

hey LL the NYT article on this had some more info on Tunguska:

Generations of scientists have studied that event, analyzing particles that were driven into the Earth’s surface as far away as the South Pole. An article published on the NASA Web site on June 30, 2008, the centennial of the Tunguska impact, said the object, weighing about 220 million pounds during its plunge, heated the surrounding air to 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit and exploded in a fireball that released the energy equivalent of 185 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska/

the object, weighing about 220 million pounds during its plunge, heated the surrounding air to 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit and exploded in a fireball that released the energy equivalent of 185 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I mean
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ha! The scarier thing is that the Soviets built a bomb that was two and a half times more powerful than Tunguska.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba

^^^this was fucked up

the object, weighing about 220 million pounds during its plunge, heated the surrounding air to 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit and exploded in a fireball that released the energy equivalent of 185 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Friday, February 15, 2013 3:10 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

irl lol at this

i am only just catching up w/all this but i am really feeling the elif batuman piece at the nyer on the hypnotic appeal of dashboard cameras,

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/02/meteor-in-the-russian-sky.html

totally.. Watching dash-cam road trip vids are great hangover soothing fodder.

"Dash cams have become ubiquitous in today’s Russia, where road hazards range from “insane gridlock” to “large, lawless areas” habited by “police with a penchant for extortion and deeply frustrated drivers who want to smash your face,” and where courts rarely award damages without video evidence."

russia is insane

This entire planet is insane.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41v7HcPsKoL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

I question whether that telescope would work very well.

Dashboard cams are also the reason there are approximately 118323 parody versions of Serebro's Mama Lyuba video on YouTube.

Not sure Russia is quite as awful as the article suggests but, yeah, video evidence can be pretty important in accident claims.

russia is insane

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Friday, February 15, 2013 3:28 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This entire planet is insane.

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Friday, February 15, 2013 3:30 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the entire universe is insane

You are insane.

Apophis is 350 m across, not km, not miles. Just big and near enough to get a name. You'll note that all the really big asteroids orbit at least 2.3 x as far from the sun as the Earth does, because the terrestrial planets ate all the nearer ones during their accretion phase.

Also, Tsar Bomba was just 7.4 Vietnam War bombing campaigns. The multi-megaton bombs were soon abandoned once more fission cores were produced by the superpowers, as they're too heavy for balistic missile delivery and cluster nuking an area with 150 kt W84 (and similar) warheads is more effective.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/more-than-1000-russians-injured-in-freaking-cooles,31321/

Newly Released Security Cam Video Shows Chelyabinsk Meteorite Impact in Lake Chebarkul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocME3KueHdY