Asteroid Explosion Over Bering Sea
On 18 December, an asteroid barreled through the atmosphere at a speed of 32km/s (20 miles per second) , on a steep trajectory of seven degrees.
Measuring several metres in size, the space rock exploded 25.6km (16 miles) above the Earth’s surface, with an impact energy of 173 kilotons.
“That was 40% the energy release of Chelyabinsk, but it was over the Bering Sea so it didn’t do any damage. We are lucky that our planet is covered in so much water. Astrophysicists say it's not if, but when, will an asteroid of a size to do major damage to populated areas, bombard our planet.
Measuring several metres in size, the space rock exploded 25.6km (16 miles) above the Earth’s surface, with an impact energy of 173 kilotons.
“That was 40% the energy release of Chelyabinsk, but it was over the Bering Sea so it didn’t do any damage. We are lucky that our planet is covered in so much water. Astrophysicists say it's not if, but when, will an asteroid of a size to do major damage to populated areas, bombard our planet.
