Qualla: The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/a-trace-of-the-meteorite-in-ch.jpg Qualla: The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City: Introduction https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor/ Photo credit Svetlana Korzhova, CC BY-SA 3.0. At 9:20 AM on February 15, 2013, a 20-meter asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere at 40,000 miles per hour over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. It exploded at an altitude of 18 miles, releasing energy equivalent to 30 Hiroshima bombs. The shockwave shattered windows across six cities, injuring approximately 1,500 people - mostly from flying glass. Dashcams, security cameras, and smartphones captured the event from hundreds of angles, making it the most documented meteor strike in human history. A fireball brighter than the sun crossed the morning sky, and for a terrifying moment, people wondered if they were under nuclear attack.

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Image: Svetlana Korzhova | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/v3g9-the-chelyabinsk-meteor-the-fireball-that-shattered-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City: The Flash https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor/ Photo credit S.Chesley/NASA, Public domain. The meteor appeared as a brilliant fireball in the morning sky, briefly outshining the sun. Witnesses described a second sun rising in the northeast, followed by an intense wave of heat. The fireball cast moving shadows across the snow-covered landscape. Cell phone videos show pe...

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Image: S.Chesley/NASA | Public domain

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/v3g9-the-chelyabinsk-meteor-the-fireball-that-shattered-the-flash.mp3 0:06 2 full The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City: The Blast https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor/ Photo credit Miass, CC BY-SA 3.0. The meteor didn't hit the ground - it exploded. The intense heat and pressure of atmospheric entry caused it to fragment about 30 kilometers up. The airburst released 500 kilotons of energy, 30 times the Hiroshima bomb. The fireball peaked at 2,500°C. Then came the shockwave. Ab...

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Image: Miass | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/v3g9-the-chelyabinsk-meteor-the-fireball-that-shattered-the-blast.mp3 0:06 3 full The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City: The Injured https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor/ Photo credit S.Chesley/NASA, Public domain. Approximately 1,500 people required medical attention - the vast majority for lacerations from shattered glass. Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries. No deaths were attributed to the meteor. The injury toll could have been far worse. The timing was crucial. Had the...

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Image: S.Chesley/NASA | Public domain

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/v3g9-the-chelyabinsk-meteor-the-fireball-that-shattered-the-injured.mp3 0:06 4 full The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City: The Documentation https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor/ Photo credit Meteor126, CC0. The Chelyabinsk meteor became the most-documented impact event in history. Russian drivers commonly use dashcams to document accidents and corrupt police - those cameras captured the fireball from hundreds of angles. Security cameras, smartphones, and even a dashcam on a bus prov...

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Image: Meteor126 | CC0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/v3g9-the-chelyabinsk-meteor-the-fireball-that-shattered-the-documentation.mp3 0:06 5 full The Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Fireball That Shattered a City: The Warning https://qualla.com/chelyabinsk-meteor/ Photo credit Penyulap, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Chelyabinsk meteor arrived on the same day that asteroid 2012 DA14 made a close pass of Earth - but the two were unrelated. The coincidence was pure chance, highlighting how busy near-Earth space actually is. Astronomers had been watching DA14 for a year; they never saw Chely...

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Image: Penyulap | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/3/g/9/chelyabinsk-meteor-wk/v3g9-the-chelyabinsk-meteor-the-fireball-that-shattered-the-warning.mp3 0:06 6 full