Chelyabinsk – 15.1g

Stone meteorite from the famous Chelyabinsk fireball

Class: LL5

Date and location of fall: Chelyabinskaya oblast’, Russia. February 15, 2013
Notes: Fusion-crusted stone

A very large meteor (known as a fireball or bolide) was seen by countless witnesses over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on February 15, 2013. Its shallow flight was of exceptionally long duration and numerous car-mounted video recorders (dashcams) captured astonishing footage of the fireball. Following a series of in-flight explosions, thousands of small black, fusion-crusted meteorites rained down on the snow-covered ground outside Chelyabinsk. The city itself was rocked by a massive shockwave that shattered windows and injured at least 1,200 people. This marked the first instance in recorded history of multiple people being injured by the effects of a meteorite fall.