“President Vladimir Putin said he thanked God no big fragments had fallen in populated areas.”

As I mentioned previously, asteroid 2012 DA14 is due to make its close encounter with Earth later this evening.  Meanwhile, earlier today several hundred people in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia were injured during a visitation by the god Ogdy by debris caused by the unexpected appearance of a relatively large meteor.  It’s reported that a crater 6m (20ft) wide has been found on the shore of a lake 1km outside Chebarkul, a town in the region – created by a fragment of the meteor.  …

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“Good catch, Ron!”

Whilst Earth-bound observers of the annual Perseids meteor shower had to contend with a full moon this year, others had a more privileged view.  Like Nasa astronaut Ron Garan, orbiting on the International Space Station, who captured this stunning image of a fragment of the Swift-Tuttle comet burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere. [Image credit: NASA Image ISS028-E-24847].  Science at Nasa explains in this short video. And you can stay “Up all night” watching the skies, again, courtesy of the camera at Nasa’s Marshall Space …

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