2. WHAT IS A METEOR?
1. Asteroids are small bodies that orbit the
Sun as the Earth does
2. Larger asteroids are called planetoids or
minor planets, smaller ones often called
meteoroids
3. Once any of these enters our planet's
atmosphere, it becomes a meteor
4. Many meteors break into pieces or burn
up entirely as they speed through the
atmosphere
5. Once meteors or fragments actually hit
the earth's surface, they become
meteorites
3. DID YOU KNOW ?
A meteor crashing in Russia's Ural
Mountains has injured at least 950 people,
as the shockwave blew out windows and
rocked buildings.
Most of those hurt, in the Chelyabinsk
region where meteorites fell, suffered cuts
and bruises but at least 46 remain in
hospital.
A fireball streaked through the clear
morning sky, followed by loud bangs.
4. ▪ A large meteorite landed in a
lake near Chebarkul, a town in
Chelyabinsk region.
▪ The meteor's dramatic passing
was witnessed in
Yekaterinburg, 200km (125 miles)
to the north, and in
Kazakhstan, to the south.
▪ Officials say a large meteor
partially burned up in the lower
atmosphere, resulting in a
number of meteorites falling
earthwards.
5. ▪ Thousands of rescue workers have been
dispatched to the area to provide help to
the injured .
▪ The explosion was so strong that some
windows in our building and in the
buildings that are across the road and in
the city in general, the windows broke.
▪ One Russian politician said the event was
not a meteor shower but a US weapons
test,
6. 985 people had sought medical
treatment, including 204 children.
Two people in the town of Kopeysk
were in a serious condition.
A meteorite had also landed in a lake
1km outside Chebarkul, which has a
population of 46,000.
The Russian Academy of Sciences
estimates that the meteor weighed
about 10 tonnes and entered the Earth's
atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000
km/h (33,000mph).