Giant chunk of Russian meteor raised from the lake

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian scientists have recovered a giant chunk of the Chelyabinsk meteor from the bottom of the lake it crashed into.

 

 

A meteor that blazed across southern Urals in February was the largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century. More than 1,600 people were injured by the shock wave from the explosion, estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs, as it landed near the city of Chelyabinsk.

Scientists on Wednesday recovered what could be the largest part of this meteor from Chebarkul Lake outside the city. They weighed it using a giant steelyard balance, which displayed 570 kilograms (1,256 pounds) before it broke.

Sergei Zamozdra, an associate professor at Chelyabinsk State University, told Russian television the excavated fragment was definitely a chunk of the meteor.