World captivated by meteor hit and asteroid near-miss
Just hours after the meteor lit up the sky in Russia, another asteroid passed near earth. YNN's Natalia Martinez spoke with local experts about these rocks from space that has people all over the world talking.
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Amazing video from Russia Friday. A meteor explodes with the force of 10 kilotons of TNT, almost as strong as the bomb dropped over Hiroshima.
"These events happen and they've happened over the earth's history," UB professor Bernard Weinstein told YNN.
According to state news agencies, the shock wave shattered buildings' windows and showered some people in glass. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered aid for the area.
People all over the world are in awe over the images. Experts estimate meteorites can travel up to 19,000 mph.
"The cometary material is coming into the earth's atmosphere so fast, that the earth's atmosphere acts kinda like concrete," Bill Nye, The Science Guy, said.
Friday afternoon, an asteroid called 2012 DA 14 streaked by our weather and communications satellites.
But are the two connected?
"The timing is coincident, and it makes you think that it was. I think that the jury is still out on that," Weinstein said.
We bumped into a Buffolonian at a dinosaur exhibit Friday. New evidence supports the theory that a meteoroid caused their extinction.
"I think we need to start making moon colonies," he said.
The hunt for the space junk already started. Just a gram of a meteorite can go for nearly $700.00.