Chebarkul meteorite - debunking myths

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

In the Russian Federation there is a large city - Chelyabinsk. On February 15, 2013, the Chebarkul meteorite fell in its vicinity. This event attracted the attention of the entire scientific world and the masses of the curious.

Meteorite fell in Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk residents, as well as residents of nearby areas at 9-30 saw a high-speed UFO flight in the sky. The object glowed brightly, leaving behind a jet trail. A couple of seconds after the phenomenon, a shock wave swept through the city, trees fell, glass flew out of the windows, and some buildings were destroyed. More than 1,500 residents were affected by fragments and stones.

What was that? Representatives of the authorities, scientists and crowds of fearless curious people went to the place where, according to calculations, the mysterious object fell. The fall was recorded by NASA, and astronomers from many countries of the world became interested in it.

Heavenly body - Chebarkul meteorite. This "guest from outer space" is the second largest after the famous Tunguska meteorite that arrived on Earth in 1908.

Description of the "space guest"

The Chebarkul meteorite entered our atmosphere at an angle of 20° andswept at a speed close to 20 km / s. A stone block weighing 10 tons and a width of about 17 m split at a height of 20 km. It was not the Chebarkul meteorite itself that flew to the ground, but only its fragments.

The explosion was 30 times more powerful than the bomb in Hiroshima, and pieces of the "space guest" brought a lot of destruction. Chelyabinsk and settlements in Korkino, Kopeysk, Yemanzhelinsk and Yuzhnouralsk, the village of Etkul suffered. Scientists say that if the “guest” had exploded just a couple of kilometers below, the consequences would have been much more dire.

The Chebarkul meteorite, whose photo can now be found in many scientific publications, is an ordinary chondrite. Contains iron and magnetic pyrite, olivine and sulfites, and some other complex compounds. Unusual for meteorites are found traces of titan iron ore and native copper. There are cracks in the body filled with vitreous substance.

This meteorite broke off from a parent body about 4 billion years old and wandered in outer space before entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Crash site

Scientists and treasure hunters set off in search of the meteorite. Two main fragments were quickly found in the Chebarkul region. The third piece was found in the Zlatoust region. The fourth part - the largest - fell into Lake Chebarkul. Those who observed this phenomenon claimed that a huge stone raised waves 3-4 meters high.

Raising him from the muddy bottom of the lake proved to be a very difficult task. The fragment weighed, as expected, at least 300 kg, andthen all 400. Under his weight, he is deeply bogged down in the bottom silt. The Chebarkul meteorite was raised only at the end of the summer of 2013. The local authorities allocated 3 million rubles for this operation.

When a piece of a meteorite was taken from the bottom of the lake, its weight turned out to be more than calculated. The stone weighed as much as 600 kg. Scientists carefully examined the Chebarkul meteorite and declared that it does not pose a chemical or radioactive hazard.

Now the Chelyabinsk meteorite (official name) is a local landmark, it is kept in the local history museum of Chelyabinsk.

Besides these 4 main parts, many small meteorite stones were found.

Interesting facts

The fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite made a lot of noise. It is worth noting such interesting facts related to this event:

• tourist trips are organized today to the meteorite impact site,
• established a medal with a meteorite insert for athletes who win the Olympic Games on February 15,
• many pieces of the "space alien" went to private collections,
• many thematic brands of alcohol and sweets were born - Chebarkul Meteor, Meteorite in Chelyabinsk, Ural Guest and other creative names,
• enterprising businessmen began to produce clothes, dishes, other trifles with prints of the Chebarkul meteorite,
• Chelyabinsk perfume company has created an unusual perfume "Chebarkul meteorite" with metal and stone components,
• many resourcefulresidents put up items affected by a meteorite explosion at online auctions, all lots quickly went to the hands of strange collectors,
• there were scammers who spread information about the healing and magical properties of the meteorite,
• the state compensated the residents of the windows broken by the blast wave; many, wanting to receive compensation, smashed windows in apartments themselves.

Scientists said that a meteorite of this magnitude falls to Earth no more than once every 100 years.