Did the meteorite explode in Russia collide with the Sun?

The Institute of Minerals and Geology of the Russian Academy of Sciences on August 27 announced the results of the study showing that the meteorite block that injured more than 1,500 people in this country on February 15 may have almost touched the Sun. before falling to Earth and exploding.

This discovery is now presented at the Goldschmidt geochemical conference in the Italian city of Florence.

After studying the composition of broken meteorites, Russian geological experts found that these space rocks experienced high-temperature melting before falling into the Earth's atmosphere and exploding. in the Chelyabinsk region in central Russia as a blazing fireball.

Photo: EPA

Researcher Victor Sharygin of the Russian Academy said that the findings prove "almost certainly" this meteorite crosses the Sun or has touched another entity in the Solar System, for example like a planet or some asteroid.

The US Aerospace Agency (NASA) said that the meteorite mass was about 10,000 tons, 17 meters wide before exploding in Chelyabinsk, releasing about 300 kiloton of energy, equivalent to the power of 20-25. The atomic bomb that the US dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II (1945).

Its shockwave blew away windows, damaging many buildings and public buildings across five regions of Russia. Meteorite fragments are scattered over a large area around Chelyabinsk. The largest part is said to be at the bottom of Lake Chebarkul.

The February 15 explosion is considered the largest meteorite explosion in Russia in 100 years, causing more than 1,500 people to be injured and damaged thousands of buildings. After the fear, many people are feverish to make money from the "falling gold mine" by selling broken pieces of meteorites.