It wasn't apparent... it was a meteorite... probably an iron meteorite (versus a stony meteorite). Meteorite collector and armchair expert here. The best compilation of photos and videos I have found is here...
(although there are a few phony pictures and humor scattered through this page)
In the realm of the study of rocks from space... this is a history changing event, mainly because of the overwhelming first hand videos, pictures and the scope of the damage. So far there is no damage that can be attributed to an actual piece of this bolloid hitting a building or person, but there is extensive damage from the two shock waves that occurred about 4 seconds apart... as the mass exploded.
But the reports are still coming in.
Even the silliness has already started. Some guy from Arizona had an ad on Ebay trying to sell a piece of this fall for 999.99 (the ad has already been removed from Ebay).
As far as owning a piece of this fall... I only know of 1 meteorite hunter in Russia and one American who may be able to acquire (and then sell) any pieces of this meteorite.
If there is any damage found that was a direct result of a piece of this rock hitting a building or person, then it will be known as a "Hammer Stone," a nickname given to any meteorite that hit's anything man made or human.
All of the videos I have seen of the meteor are pretty spectacular, a couple of different sources estimate the meteor was traveling at 33,000 MPH when it hit the atmosphere. The heat from the friction was severe and the sonic booms really took their toll on the town and the people in it. I wonder how big any of the surviving fragments are.
- OR -
[conspiracy_font] Could it be that this is North Korea's recently promised additional nuke test? I wonder if any rockets were launched in North Korea in the same time frame? [/conspiracy_font] I'm going to re-line my ball cap with a fresh layer of tinfoil just in case the black helicopters fly over my place and attempt to read my brain waves.
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
I was driving home one early evening when I lived in Half Moon Bay, CA and witnessed a meteor burning out over the ocean while the sun was setting. It was AMAZING
