video
Bob McDonald explains the Russian meteor
Earth is in the universe's 'shooting range' says CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks host
CBC News
Posted: Feb 15, 2013 10:22 PM ET
Last Updated: Feb 15, 2013 10:07 PM ET
The meteor that streaked across the Russian sky before exploding over the Ural Mountains “punched a hole in the air,” says the CBC’s top science reporter.
Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks, said the meteor was travelling about 10 times faster than a supersonic jet when it broke apart over Russia with a massive boom. McDonald said that sound — which many mistook for a massive bomb blast — was actually an “airburst.”
Friday’s meteor strike, while an amazing sight, is nothing new.
“We’re in a shooting gallery,” McDonald said, of Earth’s spot in the universe. Thousands of small asteroids are constantly streaking past the planet — including 2012 DA14, another asteroid that buzzed by Earth on Friday.
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