NASA detects huge meteor explosion over Russia’s Bering Sea

A large meteoroid was exploded on December 18 last year over the Bering Sea, however, it went unnoticed due to the remote location. Notably, the Bering Sea is situated in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The American space agency NASA on this Friday shared images captured by its Earth-watching Terra satellite showing a view of the massive fireball in action.

The image shows the meteor’s smoky path over the sea. The meteoroid looks like a dark smudge across the clouds. NASA also released a GIF. Take a look:

Did you miss the meteor ☄️ spotted over the Bering Sea in December 2018? Don’t worry — our satellite ? saw it! The MODIS instrument on @NASA's Terra satellite caught this view ? of the meteor’s shadow, visible as the gray streak above the clouds ☁️.https://t.co/VUDxPjWgqn pic.twitter.com/s8pcO6XxUE

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) March 22, 2019

The MISR instrument, also on Terra ?, saw the large "fireball" — the term used for exceptionally bright meteors ☄️ that are visible over a wide area — as it exploded ? about 16 miles above the Bering Sea, far enough way to pose no threat. pic.twitter.com/lyjyZKBZOm

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) March 22, 2019

The explosion of meteoroid unleashed around 173 kilotons of energy, more than 10 times that of the atomic bomb blast over Hiroshima in World War II. Also, it was the most powerful explosion in the atmosphere since the fireball that burst over the Russian town of Chelyabinsk in 2013. That was 440 kilotons, and left 1,500 people injured, mostly from glass flying out of smashed windows.

In an exclusive interview with BBC, Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer at Nasa, said that a fireball this big is only expected about two or three times every 100 years.

It is to be noted that meteors are rocks from outer space that become incandescent upon entering the earth’s atmosphere as a result of friction. They are also known as shooting stars. Pieces which survive intact and hit the ground are known as meteorites.

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