On October 8, 2009, a large asteroid smashed into Earth’s atmosphere above South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The resulting explosion could be heard by monitoring stations some 10,000 miles away, according to a report by scientists at the University of Western Ontario.
Many scientists and experts are concerned that this asteroid wasn’t spotted by any Earth-based telescopes and that, if it had been any larger, it could have triggered a disaster.
The asteroid, thought to have been around 30 feet across, struck our atmosphere at an estimated speed of about 45,000 miles per hour. The sudden deceleration caused it to heat quickly and explode with the force of about 50,000 tons of TNT.
Luckily, as the explosion took place about 9 to 12 miles above sea level, no damage was done here on the ground.
If, however, the asteroid had been slightly larger, say 60 to 90 feet across, it could very easily have caused widespread damage and loss of life, according to researchers.
Very few objects smaller than 300 feet across have been spotted and catalogued by astronomers.
See coverage of the amazing blast below:
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- Blazing Meteor Captured on Video (space.com)
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