The 5 largest meteors ever plunged to Earth

With the power to destroy up to 15 million tons of TNT, some meteors carry enormous destructive power that once plunged to Earth.

Meteorite exploded south of the Atlantic Ocean

Illustration of meteorites plunging south of the Pacific Ocean in early February. (Photo: BBC).

On February 6, an interplanetary fragment, which can be made of rocks with a diameter of 5 m, crosses the Earth's upper layer. Fluttering through the sky at speeds of tens of kilometers per second, the asteroid's air was compressed and heated, causing the object to burn as it advanced toward the surface of the Earth. When 20-30 km away from the South Pacific sea surface, meteorites exploded with destructive power equivalent to 12,000 tons of TNT (by atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima city of Japan). However, the incident is only recorded through defense and scientific equipment.

Chelyabinsk meteorite

Smoke streaks across the sky created by meteorite Chelyabinsk.(Photo: AP).

The image of the fireball ripped through the sky of Chelyabinsk city, Russia, at dawn on February 15, 2013, recorded by mobile cameras, CCTV and car dashboards. Moving at 20km / sec, this fireball is many times brighter than the Sun. Estimates indicate objects with a diameter of 20m and explode with destructive force of 500,000 tons of TNT, breaking thousands of glass doors, causing damage lasting 89km along both sides of the road and making more than 1,200 residents in the injured area. Whether exploding in the air, meteorites show the damage that an explosion can cause to the population.

Meteorite 2008 TC3

Fuzzy smoke stays in the sky from meteorite 2008 TC3.(Photo: NASA).

The 4m-diameter object, weighing 80 tons, entered the Earth atmosphere in northern Sudan on the morning of October 7, 2008. At a speed of 13 km / sec, meteorites explode when being tens of kilometers from the ground with the force of destroying about 1,000 tons of TNT, lighting up the sky and fireballs can be seen from a distance of 1,000 km. 2008 TC3 attracted attention because it was the first object to be observed and monitored before plunging to Earth.

Tunguska meteorite

The trees fell due to the explosion of the Tunguska meteorite.(Photo: Wikimedia).

On the morning of June 30, 1908, an explosion took place in a sparsely populated area east of Siberia, leveling up 80m tall trees on an area of ​​2,000km ² . Analysis of the explosion indicates its destructive force by about 15 million tons of TNT, 1,000 times greater than the damage of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. It is estimated that objects with a diameter of 50 - 200m, explode 5 - 10km from the ground. The explosion caused earthquakes in Asia and Europe but did not lead to any deaths because the area was virtually uninhabited.

Barringer meteorite

Huge crater due to Barringer meteorite crashing on the surface of the Earth.(Photo: USGS).

The 1,000m-wide crater, 170m deep in the Arizona desert, is a testament to the consequences when meteorites pass through the atmosphere and affect the surface of the Earth.

The simulation showed that the crater was created by an iron-nickel meteorite, 50m in diameter, crashed to the ground at a speed of 13km / sec and had the power to destroy by 10,000,000 tons of TNT. The scientists concluded that the Barringer meteorite did not break down or explode in the air. The explosion took place 50,000 years ago, when the area had no human settlers, but still a warning for the asteroid's destructive ability.