ST. PETERSBURG/CHELYABINSK. Feb 18 (Interfax) - Three explosions of different force occurred as the meteorite ripped open the skies in the Chelyabinsk region on Friday, Russian Geographic Society regional branch chairman, Geographic Ph.D. Sergei Zakharov said.
"Judging by my observations, the fireball was flying from southeast to northwest. A bright flare of more than 2,500 degrees (Centigrade) happened before the three explosions. The first explosion was the strongest. It broke window glass in some homes in southern neighborhoods of Chelyabinsk," the Russian Geographic Society website quoted Zakharov.
The expert said the explosion happened about 60-70 kilometers above the ground and had the approximate force of one to ten kilotons.
"Judging by measurements done on the other side of the city, the explosion might have happened on the altitude of 30 kilometers. In that case its force would measure from 0.1 to one kiloton. The angle was 40-45 degrees. Presumably, the explosion epicenter was located south of Chelyabinsk (in the area of Yemanzhelinsk - Yuzhnouralsk)," the scientist said.
"It was a bolide, a large space object, actually, a large meteorite which blasted when it entered lower atmospheric layers and sprayed debris. Some media outlets said we had witnessed a meteorite shower. That was not so. A meteorite shower is practically safe: crushed stones pour from outer space. I repeat that we had a bolide blast and, unfortunately, its sharp debris hurt people," Zakharov said.
In his opinion, the meteorite trajectory above the Chelyabinsk region had an angle of about 290 degrees and went along the Yemanzhelinsk-Miass line. The flare lasted for about five seconds and the blast wave arrived in about six minutes.
The Chelyabinsk region had a similar event in 1949. Then the Kunashak district saw a meteor shower and local residents took about 300 kilograms of "celestial pebbles" to scientists.