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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: Nails on February 14, 2013, 11:04:21 PM
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http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1921991 (http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1921991)
(http://rt.com/files/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/russia-meteorite-crash-panic-459.n.jpg)
Updated: 02/15/2013 01:52am
MOSCOW (AP) — Fragments of at least one meteorite fell in the Chelyabinsk region some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, causing flashes in the morning sky and sharp explosions, Russian officials said Friday.
The office of the governor of the regrussihere were no immediate confirmed figures or specific reports on damage.
Reports conflicted on the event: A spokeswoman for Russia's Emergency Ministry, Irina Rossius, told The Associated Press that there was a meteor shower, but another ministry spokeswoman, Elena Smirnikh, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying it was a single meteorite.
The ministry said some fragments fell near the town of Satka, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the regional capital city of Chelyabinsk.
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(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pashdf8IiYY/S0qvzLrGzoI/AAAAAAAAA2k/vS3H2D8_O3Q/s400/Tunguska+explosion.jpg)
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In Mother Russia, boulder sized particle of debris hit you.
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A factory experienced sum' bigger damage.
(http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/162864/image_update_3abc2e438ae29445_1360910975_9j-4aaqsk.jpeg)
(http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2013/2/15/20132157561258734_20.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/LwGsxUb.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/kTPOzoW.jpg)
The area is known to host some nuclear facilities.
I have a feeling that this was coming from USA and ROS air defenses managed to shot it in pieces and pieces fell in large area.
when Americans realized strike was not to be effective, they probably phoned Kremlin begging for no retaliation strike.
wouldn't be surprised if some major American company tells about some big investment in ROS in the next few weeks... just like coca cola did after Libya attack.
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That was actually Bale's second free kick, after it tore through the net!!!
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Fuck me! Apparently +-250 injured... :o listen to the explosions in these videos (taken off dash board cams)
http://gizmodo.com/5984476/meteorite-crashes-in-russia-panic-spreads
And there's a big ass meteorite passing by earth tonight (150 foot across) big enough to take out an area the size of the UK if it hit earth… Coincidence?
Maybe this was a piece of meteorite that proceeds the big one. No warning no one saw this coming, so who knows what else is heading our way...
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Falcon has been predicting this for awhile.
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(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/russia.jpg)
The factory building that took serious hit:
(http://rt.com/files/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/photo-user.jpg)
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intense! it crashed and burned harder than Big Down Hill bodybuilding career
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Most injuries apparently from blown windows
(http://rt.com/files/news/russia-meteor-meteorite-asteroid-chelyabinsk-291/viktor-receiving-treatment-followed.jpg)
(http://rt.com/files/news/russia-meteor-meteorite-asteroid-chelyabinsk-291/photo-682.jpg)
(http://rt.com/files/news/russia-meteor-meteorite-asteroid-chelyabinsk-291/broken-sports-sightings-falling.jpg)
(http://ksfy.images.worldnow.com/images/21203904_BG1.jpg)
(http://ksfy.images.worldnow.com/images/21203904_BG2.jpg)
(http://www.russianlessons.net/russia/chelyabinsk/russia-chelyabinsk.gif)
"They shot our nuke down before it hit the civilian targets?"
(http://floppingaces.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama-oops.jpg)
"Hell yea, Borack, hell yea"
(http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/russian_s300missile090304.jpg)
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Crazy! People thought the war has begun in this video "shiit, it's war"
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
I wonder if they have even cancelled "civilian flights" from USA to penetrate the airspace until the situation is clear; was this is a mistake or done on purpose.
I mean, they can put nukes in empty scheduled civilian planes and explode them at Moscow airports - that would be a hit in the heart, although I'm sure Kremlin is empty already.
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Falcon has been predicting this for awhile.
;D
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Nothing a couple of bottles of vodka can't make you forget.
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Nothing a couple of bottles of vodka can't make you forget.
this
Поехали!
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SO! The Malevolent Aliens have Landed now!
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Nothing a couple of bottles of vodka good retaliation strikes can't make you forget.
Fixed.
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SO! The Malevolent Aliens have Landed now!
SOMEONE WAKE UP WIGGS
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(http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=195762&d=1360917493)
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They think it was not a meteorite but simple space debrie (sp?)... :o
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They think it was not a meteorite but simple space debrie (sp?)... :o
URA !
"Soldiers have been sent to meteor impact sites in Russia, where more than 400 people have been injured by today's strike. "
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/meteor-shower-explodes-in-central-russia-and-urals-injuring-people/story-e6frfq80-1226578976770#ixzz2KxY9Unjj
""All Rosatom enterprises located in the Urals region - including the Mayak complex - are working as normal,'' an unnamed Rosatom spokesman told Interfax.
The emergencies ministry said radiation levels in the region also did not change and that 20,000 rescue workers had been dispatched to help the injured and locate those required help."
They didn't even hit the nuke factories HAHAHAHA :-*
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URA !
"Soldiers have been sent to meteor impact sites in Russia, where more than 400 people have been injured by today's strike. "
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/meteor-shower-explodes-in-central-russia-and-urals-injuring-people/story-e6frfq80-1226578976770#ixzz2KxY9Unjj
The experts say that it was to slow to be a meteorite! When you see a falling star thats somewhat the same thing as a meteorite burning in the sky....but space debrie would make such a inpact as seen in Russia today...
Not my opinion but thats what the experts on meteorites said on the news here today... ???
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Crazy
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The experts say that it was to slow to be a meteorite! When you see a falling star thats somewhat the same thing as a meteorite burning in the sky....but space debrie would make such a inpact as seen in Russia today...
Not my opinion but thats what the experts on meteorites said on the news here today... ???
Hard to say what it was at this point. Many theories floating around.
But usually space junk is known when it's coming down and where it will land.
Some witnesses earlier even talked about military firing at it.
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Hard to say what it was at this point. Many theories floating around.
Some witnesses earlier even talked about military firing at it.
Maybe you can see those fighterjets you so love in the sky in a couple of weeks..... ;D
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Come on now, we all know what landed
(http://scivergence.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/slide2.jpg)
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Maybe you can see those fighterjets you so love in the sky in a couple of weeks..... ;D
Hope not - I prefer them flying without weapons ;D
If it was a missile, only option is USA. No one else is crazy enough to attack ROS - besides Georgia but they don't have missiles :D
(http://cs6081.userapi.com/v6081385/508f/hhp8_8Hlg7g.jpg)
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The most not-giving-a-fuk people on Earth: The ROS.
Calmness is almost ridiculous :o :o 8)
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
Also notice how the people just walk to work not giving a shit ;D
(http://i45.tinypic.com/14jqfib.jpg)
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Update:
Vice-Chairman of the State Duma Crazy Zhirinovsky: “Those aren’t meteors falling, it’s the Americans testing new weapons”
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130215/179489080/Russian-Politician-Denies-Meteorite-Claims-US-Weapons-Tests.html
Russia must take appropriate countermeasures when confirmed. Sick fuks, parts hit even the schools :'(
This can't be left unpunished!
(http://media.englishrussia.com/112011/rvnsday/rvnsday-11.jpg)
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...Oh shit... :-\
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Wars and their accompanying rumors.
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BREAKING:
Vice-Chairman of the State Duma: “Those aren’t meteors falling, it’s the Americans testing new weapons”
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130215/179489080/Russian-Politician-Denies-Meteorite-Claims-US-Weapons-Tests.html
Russia must take appropriate countermeasures when confirmed. Sick fuks, parts hit even the schools :'(
This can't be left unpunished!
(http://media.englishrussia.com/112011/rvnsday/rvnsday-11.jpg)
Wow. Been nice knowing you Mass, I'll see you on the other side. :-\
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Wow. Been nice knowing you Mass, I'll see you on the other side. :-\
Abort the command: it was Zhirinovsky speaking !!
His face wasn't on story when it was first published... He's Rumney of ROS; not to be taken too seriously.
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
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Place where the main part landed located:
(http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6430/159388049.0/0_116651_840ab945_XXL.jpg)
(http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6427/159388049.0/0_116657_2439fd10_XXL.jpg)
;D
(http://pit.dirty.ru/lepro/2/2013/02/15/7305-151326-82100b89dd6e22ac516d4b27ec392931.png)
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and getbiggers wanna think im an idiot for presenting walter russels knowledge
also that metoer was predicted by a fucking dentest not nasa
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and getbiggers wanna think im an idiot for presenting walter russels knowledge
also that metoer was predicted by a fucking dentest not nasa
You're insane, there's a difference.
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I wonder if they have even cancelled "civilian flights" from USA to penetrate the airspace until the situation is clear; was this is a mistake or done on purpose.
I mean, they can put nukes in empty scheduled civilian planes and explode them at Moscow airports - that would be a hit in the heart, although I'm sure Kremlin is empty already.
oh stfu godamn fucktard.
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You're insane, there's a difference.
burn in hell guy
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The area is known to host some nuclear facilities.
I have a feeling that this was coming from USA and ROS air defenses managed to shot it in pieces and pieces fell in large area.
when Americans realized strike was not to be effective, they probably phoned Kremlin begging for no retaliation strike.
wouldn't be surprised if some major American company tells about some big investment in ROS in the next few weeks... just like coca cola did after Libya attack.
Allow me to ask a personal question: did you go to some kind of finishing school to refine your paranoia and bring it to unprecedented heights?
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burn in hell guy
I have no intention of spending a day in your shoes.
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I have no intention of spending a day in your shoes.
youre just another paid poster
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Infowars is reporting that this was actually Chris dorner coming back to tidy up some "business"
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Everybody just calm down!
...it was just a missile strike meant for Cris Dorner that was just a little off course.
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Anyone find baby superman and his spaceship yet
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Everybody just calm down!
...it was just a missile strike meant for Cris Dorner that was just a little off course.
;D ;D ;D
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North Korea trying to start WWIII
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The area is known to host some nuclear facilities.
I have a feeling that this was coming from USA and ROS air defenses managed to shot it in pieces and pieces fell in large area.
when Americans realized strike was not to be effective, they probably phoned Kremlin begging for no retaliation strike.
wouldn't be surprised if some major American company tells about some big investment in ROS in the next few weeks... just like coca cola did after Libya attack.
hahahahahhahah!!! Are you crazy?
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North Korea trying to start WWIII
Nah.
Russia offers good honest jobs for North Koreans in vast forests of Siberia so they can send little money to their families in NK.
True story but many don't know about it.
(http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/no-slug/f1b23dd9d4f8268cf4dcda6b82c34797.jpg)
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/15/world/asia/north-korean-labor-camps-in-siberia
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Attack Russia and put the blame on the USA
Nah.
Russia offers good honest jobs for North Koreans in vast forests of Siberia so they can send little money to their families in NK.
True story but many don't know about it.
(http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/no-slug/f1b23dd9d4f8268cf4dcda6b82c34797.jpg)
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/15/world/asia/north-korean-labor-camps-in-siberia
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Nah.
Russia offers good honest jobs for North Koreans in vast forests of Siberia so they can send little money to their families in NK.
True story but many don't know about it.
(http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/no-slug/f1b23dd9d4f8268cf4dcda6b82c34797.jpg)
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/15/world/asia/north-korean-labor-camps-in-siberia
North Korean Labor Camps in Russia - VICE NEWS - Part 1 of 7
North Korea has come up with a new way to bring cold hard cash into its isolated country: export North Korean workers to slave away in the Siberian forest (often without telling them they're no longer in North Korea). We set out to investigate these camps and almost landed ourselves in quite a bit of trouble.
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http://zyalt.livejournal.com/722930.html
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North Korean Labor Camps in Russia - VICE NEWS - Part 1 of 7
North Korea has come up with a new way to bring cold hard cash into its isolated country: export North Korean workers to slave away in the Siberian forest (often without telling them they're no longer in North Korea). We set out to investigate these camps and almost landed ourselves in quite a bit of trouble.
Yea, it was amazing.
They even had those "villages" built North Korean style, their slogans written on placates in Korean, their flag waving etc.
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This mas mass243
(http://pit.dirty.ru/lepro/2/2013/02/15/57197-102530-4b388aba77729df9c1302ada44ac49d7.png)
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This mas mass243
(http://pit.dirty.ru/lepro/2/2013/02/15/57197-102530-4b388aba77729df9c1302ada44ac49d7.png)
hahahahahahahahhhahaahha!!! ;D
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This mas mass243
(http://pit.dirty.ru/lepro/2/2013/02/15/57197-102530-4b388aba77729df9c1302ada44ac49d7.png)
;D ;D
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Crazy
MOTHER FUCKER!!!
Did you see the man standing next to it ??? :o :o :o
would be good to know the size of the actual rock that made that fucking crater
watch them fuck around and say it was only the size of a small honda civic
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im so Glad NASA was ahead of this Impact
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MOTHER FUCKER!!!
Did you see the standing next to it ??? :o :o :o
would be good to know the size of the actual rock that made that fucking crater
watch them fuck around and say it was only the size of a small honda civic
LOOOOL
The crater in the end is not from this "unidentified object" ;D ;D ;D
It's so called "gaz crater" as is said on video. Nothing to do with this case.
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Russians are cool as ice!
if that hit in the states there would be panic on the streets, people running to supermarkets to gather supplies , weapons out just in case more Meteors hit
(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww152/aida_him/gifs/hysteria.gif)
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MOTHER FUCKER!!!
Did you see the standing next to it ??? :o :o :o
would be good to know the size of the actual rock that made that fucking crater
watch them fuck around and say it was only the size of a small honda civic
Awesome at the end
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Awesome at the end
But it's not from this "meteor" in case.
For the last time, it's a so called gaz crater.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__7Y9Dn_NEFE/TBDllHzRbVI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/YJN7lAUPUZ0/s1600/Me+at+Darvaza+Gas+Crator+II.jpg)
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Supposedly a view of contrail of this "meteorite" from a plane:
(http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6441/159388049.1/0_116724_2ffabec8_XXL.jpg)
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LOOOOL
The crater in the end is not from this "unidentified object" ;D ;D ;D
It's so called "gaz crater" as is said on video. Nothing to do with this case.
Yup, gaz crater. Actually a really cool thing, its a permaburning natural deposit of gas. The hole was created accidentally when the ground beneath a Soviet drilling rig collapsed, all the way back in 1971.
Soviets then just decided to set the thing on fire hopefully it will burn itself out. Still going strong!
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/The_Door_to_Hell.jpg/1280px-The_Door_to_Hell.jpg)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derweze
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Yup, gaz crater. Actually a really cool thing, its a permaburning natural deposit of gas. The hole was created accidentally when the ground beneath a Soviet drilling rig collapsed, all the way back in 1971.
Soviets then just decided to set the thing on fire hopefully it will burn itself out. Still going strong!
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/The_Door_to_Hell.jpg/1280px-The_Door_to_Hell.jpg)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derweze
Finally someone with common sense ;D
And yes, very cool sight in itself.
Located in today's Turkmenistan I think.
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There's a Finnish ice hockey player who lives in Chelyabinsk and experienced all this today.
Said arena had damaged (it has plenty of glass) and training was cancelled ;D
(http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18eq4rp8j4ktqjpg/xlarge.jpg)
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There's a Finnish ice hockey player who lives in Chelyabinsk and experienced all this today.
Said arena had damaged (it has plenty of glass) and training was cancelled ;D
(http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18eq4rp8j4ktqjpg/xlarge.jpg)
their muscular progress is among the first real casualties of this natural, entirely unrelated to USA event.
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But it's not from this "meteor" in case.
For the last time, it's a so called gaz crater.
(http://oi48.tinypic.com/4ggt4i.jpg)
Quite alot of gaz though?
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Quite alot of gaz though?
HAHA, Eternal source of methane ;D
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HAHA, Eternal source of methane ;D
;D
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so was it a meteor? or some cool conspiracy theory?
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so was it a meteor? or some cool conspiracy theory?
Good morning.
Media still talks about 'meteorite fireball'.
Although government had earlier issued a warning for citizens not to touch any unidentified objects.
Also the radiation levels have been measured by officials, yet they have been normal according to reports.
No one died.
Some 1000 people have experienced mostly minor wounds.
Thousands of homes and other buildings have encountered damages, mostly in form of blown windows. Good for local window business ;D
Almost looks like getting a hit in this pic:
(http://en.rian.ru/images/17948/22/179482248.jpg)
Supposed landing site in a lake. I hope they plan to take it up.
(http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/REU-RUSSIA-METEORITE_1.jpg)
8)
(http://content.foto.mail.ru/list/petrochenkov/_blogs/i-7864.jpg)
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Fuck me! Apparently +-250 injured... :o listen to the explosions in these videos (taken off dash board cams)
http://gizmodo.com/5984476/meteorite-crashes-in-russia-panic-spreads
And there's a big ass meteorite passing by earth tonight (150 foot across) big enough to take out an area the size of the UK if it hit earth… Coincidence?
Maybe this was a piece of meteorite that proceeds the big one. No warning no one saw this coming, so who knows what else is heading our way...
There isn't any explosions. There is massive sonic boom when meteorite enters the atmosphere with mach xx speed. That explains the injuries, because light and the smoke trail pull people to front of the windows, and sonic boom smash the windows on their faces. In fact the estimated speed of entering was 33 000 mph, which means mach 40. More than 1200 russian gets cut by the flying glass. If this would happen in USA, there would be 120 000 doomsday preppers running in to their silly bunkers, and shooting all directions, killing everything which moves. There would be 120 who have been cut by high quality american glass, and 500 000 killed by bullet wounds ;D
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Haha ;D
(http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/5987_10151503957907065_747078780_n-375x300.jpg)
(http://blogdailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Putin-meteor.jpg)
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mistery solved... ;D ;D ;D
(http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/188371_437515739660775_1355075751_n.jpg)
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Now they said nothing has been found from the lake so far.
"“The ministry’s divers have completed examining the lake’s area but discovered no traces of the meteorite,” Irina Rossius said."
(http://rt.com/files/news/scientists-explain-chelyabinsk-bolide-337/interior-chelyabinsk-region-meteor.n.jpg)
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
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Haha ;D
(http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/5987_10151503957907065_747078780_n-375x300.jpg)
(http://blogdailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Putin-meteor.jpg)
;D ;D ;D
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;D ;D ;D
:D
(http://i50.tinypic.com/1zz6ypl.jpg)
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Russians are cool as ice!
if that hit in the states there would be panic on the streets, people running to supermarkets to gather supplies , weapons out just in case more Meteors hit
(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww152/aida_him/gifs/hysteria.gif)
And there would be the folk standing around waiting, and complaining, about FEMA not doing enough for them instead of doing shit to help themselves
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Quite possibly the best reaction to the Russian meteor
http://www.ilyke.net/quite-possibly-the-best-reaction-to-the-russian-meteor/22214/u23p37/?utm_source=u23&utm_medium=p2337&utm_campaign=aff
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:D
(http://i50.tinypic.com/1zz6ypl.jpg)
;D
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?
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Quite possibly the best reaction to the Russian meteor
http://www.ilyke.net/quite-possibly-the-best-reaction-to-the-russian-meteor/22214/u23p37/?utm_source=u23&utm_medium=p2337&utm_campaign=aff
;D
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LOL
(http://www.ilyke.net/uploads/2013/02/22/sub/22214-ilyke.net-large-22214-fBcdJIh.jpg)
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METEORITE STRIKE AFTERMATH
After the massive strike of the meteorite last month, Russian officials, volunteers and scientists from all over the world had gathered at the crash site. The purpose for such a massive search was to gather the fragments of the meteorite while also obtaining data and closure to the residents of Chelyabinsk.
Over 100 pieces have been discovered after nearly combing and excavating 50 km (31 miles) of the area including Lake Chebarkul & Ural Mountains. Along with recent videos, photographs and infrasound readings, they have been able to determine and evaluate more information on the meteorite itself.
Here are the following updates:
- Russian experts at Ural Federal University have determined the meteorite to be a common space rock called Chondrite. The meteorite had traces of pyroxene, olivine, troilite, kamacite & taenite.
- The meteorite had spent approximately 4.5 billion years in space before it hit the Earth's surface.
- Colombian astronomers have been able to map out the trajectory of the meteorite thanks to the mapping of the fragments and videos taken by the locals.
- NASA physicist, Peter Brown, had calculated the meteorite to be:
+17.0 meters wide
+Weighed 10,000 metric tons
+Came at the Earth in a velocity of 64,373.8 km/h (40,000 mph)
+Broke apart 19.3 to 24.1 km (12 to 15 miles) from the Earth
+The energy of the explosion was 470 kilotons of TNT
- The largest piece discovered weighed at 9.8 kgs (22lbs).
This is the biggest recorded meteorite since the 1908 Tunguska Event.
~ era
The photo is an artist's rendition of the unnamed meteor entering into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Photo source: ShutterStock
Sources:
- http://1.usa.gov/160MajZ
- http://on.doi.gov/YMaKjb
- http://bit.ly/X9UjO7
- http://huff.to/VX74fD
- http://bit.ly/12bgHMF
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^^
(http://i.space.com/images/i/000/026/328/iFF/russian-fireball-meteorite.jpg?1361203290)
(http://www.trbimg.com/img-512210e0/turbine/la-fg-wn-russian-meteor-study-20130218-001/600)
(http://rt.com/files/news/1e/20/c0/00/meteorite.si.jpg)
(http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1011992/thumbs/o-RUSSIA-METEOR-ORIGIN-570.jpg?4)
Bonus: Putin in team Finland 8)
(http://img.yle.fi/uutiset/politiikka/article6192632.ece/ALTERNATES/w960/Sauli+Niinist%C3%B6+Vladimir+Putin+j%C3%A4%C3%A4kiekko.jpg)
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http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20131106/US-SCI--Asteroid.Hit/
Russian fireball shows meteor risk may be bigger
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists studying the terrifying meteor that exploded without warning over a Russian city last winter say the threat of space rocks smashing into Earth is bigger than they thought.
Meteors about the size of the one that streaked through the sky at 42,000 mph and burst over Chelyabinsk in February — and ones even larger and more dangerous — are probably four, five or even seven times more likely to hit the planet than scientists believed before the fireball, according to three studies published Wednesday in the journals Nature and Science.
That means about 20 million space rocks the size of the Chelyabinsk one may be zipping around the solar system, instead of 3 million, NASA scientist Paul Chodas said at a news conference.
Until Chelyabinsk, NASA had looked only for space rocks about 100 feet wide and bigger, figuring there was little danger below that.
This meteor was only 62 feet across but burst with the force of 40 Hiroshima-type atom bombs, scientists say. Its shock wave shattered thousands of windows, and its flash temporarily blinded 70 people and caused dozens of skin-peeling sunburns just after dawn in icy Russia. More than 1,600 people in all were injured.
Up until then, scientists had figured a meteor causing an airburst like that was a once-in-150-years event, based on how many space rocks have been identified in orbit. But one of the studies now says it is likely to happen once every 30 years or so, based on how often these things are actually hitting.
By readjusting how often these rocks strike and how damaging even small ones can be, "those two things together can increase the risk by an order of magnitude," said Mark Boslough, a Sandia National Lab physicist, co-author of one of the studies.
Lindley Johnson, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object program, which scans the heavens for dangerous objects, said the space agency is reassessing what size rocks to look for and how often they are likely to hit.
In addition, NASA this fall reactivated a dormant orbiting telescope called WISE specifically to hunt for asteroids, Johnson said. And the agency is expanding ground-based sky searches.
At the same time, NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are looking into the need for evacuations in the case of an asteroid headed for Earth and how to keep the public informed without scaring people.
Those issues came up after the two agencies quietly held a disaster drill last spring in Washington that was meant to simulate what would happen if a space rock slightly bigger than the Chelyabinsk one threatened the East Coast.
During the drill, when it looked as if the meteor would hit just outside the nation's capital, experts predicted 78,000 people could die. But when the mock meteor ended up in the ocean, the fake damage featured a 49-foot tsunami and shortages of supplies along the East Coast, according to an after-action report obtained by The Associated Press.
The exercise and the studies show there's a risk from smaller space rocks that strike before they are detected — not just from the giant, long-seen-in-advance ones like in the movie "Armageddon," said Bill Ailor, a space debris expert at the Aerospace Corporation who helped coordinate the drill.
"The biggest hazard from asteroids right now is the city-busting airbursts, not the civilization-busting impacts from 1-kilometer-diameter objects that has so far been the target of most astronomical surveys," Purdue University astronomer Jay Melosh, who wasn't part of the studies, wrote in an email.
"Old-fashioned civil defense, not Bruce Willis and his atom bombs, might be the best insurance against hazards of this kind."
Chodas said the Chelyabinsk rock surprised astronomers because it was coming from the direction of the sun and was not detectable. Telescopes can see some space rocks as small as 3 feet wide, but some are simply too dark to spot, he said.
Scientists said a 1908 giant blast over Siberia, a 1963 airborne explosion off the coast of South Africa, and others were of the type that is supposed to happen less than once a century, or in the case of Siberia, once every 8,000 years, yet they all occurred in a 105-year timespan.
Because more than two-thirds of Earth is covered with water and other vast expanses are uninhabited deserts and ice, other past fireballs could have gone unnoticed.
Just this week, NASA got a wake-up call on those bigger space rocks that astronomers thought they had a handle on, discovering two 12-mile-wide asteroids and a 1.2-mile-wide one that had escaped their notice until this month. However, NASA said the three objects won't hit Earth.
Asteroids are space rocks that circle the sun as leftovers of failed attempts to form planets billions of years ago. When asteroids enter Earth's atmosphere, they become meteors. (When they hit the ground, they are called meteorites.)
The studies said the Chelyabinsk meteor probably split off from a much bigger space rock.
What happened in the Russian city of 1 million people is altering how astronomers look at a space rocks. With first-of-its-kind video, photos, satellite imagery and the broken-up rock, scientists have been able to piece together the best picture yet of what happens when an asteroid careens into Earth's atmosphere. It's not pretty.
"I certainly never expected to see something of this scale or this magnitude," said University of Western Ontario physicist Peter Brown, lead author of one study. "It's certainly scary."
Scientists said the unusually shallow entry of the space rock spread out its powerful explosion, limiting its worst damage but making a wider area feel the effects. When it burst it released 500 kilotons of energy, scientists calculated.
"We were lucky. This could have easily gone the other way. It was really dangerous," said NASA meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens, co-author of one of the papers. "This was clearly extraordinary. Just stunning."
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http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20131106/US-SCI--Asteroid.Hit/
Russian fireball shows meteor risk may be bigger
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists studying the terrifying meteor that exploded without warning over a Russian city last winter say the threat of space rocks smashing into Earth is bigger than they thought.
This meteor was only 62 feet across but burst with the force of 40 Hiroshima-type atom bombs, scientists say.
"We were lucky. This could have easily gone the other way. It was really dangerous," said NASA meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens, co-author of one of the papers. "This was clearly extraordinary. Just stunning."
Sounds like a true getbigger.
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http://www.iflscience.com/space/meteor-explodes-over-canada
Meteor Explodes Over Canada
Yesterday on Sunday, May 4th, a meteor exploded over southern Ontario in Canada. The sighting occurred just before 4:20 pm local time and produced a flash of light that witnesses say rivaled the brightness of the sun. The explosion caused a loud crashing sound, leading many citizens to wonder if their house had sustained any damage.
The meteor was about half a meter long, causing it to explode with the force of 20-30 tons of dynamite, astronomy professor Peter Brown told CBC News. Although the Earth gets pelted with up to 78,000 tons of space debris each year, most of them occur over water or uninhabited areas.
Check out some of these dash cam videos that caught the brief, yet incredibly bright meteor explosion: