Colombian scientists reconstruct Russian meteorite’s path

In a study published this week, Colombian scientists managed to reconstruct the interstellar path of a meteorite that exploded in the skies above Russia’s Chelyabinsk Region earlier this month, leaving hundreds of people injured.

The study’s authors from a Colombian university triangulated the meteorite’s position using landmarks, shadows and camera footage.

They concluded that the Chelyabinsk meteorite was an Apollo asteroid, a class of asteroids with longer elliptical orbits than Earth. When such meteorites pass between Earth and the Sun, they typically crossorbital path.

The meteorite hit the atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 miles per hour, according to the study.