Estimates raised for nuclear-sized asteroid blast that hit Russia
The new estimates, based on additional readings from a sensor network built to detect nuclear blasts, suggest the meteor released the energy equivalent of nearly 500 kilotons of TNT. That’s about 30 times the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
What size object creates a blast that’s 30 times the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
NASA now says the Chelyabinsk object must have been about 55 feet wide (17 meters wide) with a mass of 10,000 tons before it entered Earth’s atmosphere.
Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “be careful out there”.
Well, as Einstein said, E (energy) = M (mass) x (C (speed of light))^2. I’ve heard people dispute this formula, and it may not be precise, but the basic meaning is you can get a lot of energy from a small amount of mass. Release it all at once, and the result is dramatic.