The opportunity to see a big space rock slam into our planet will likely prove too alluring for some brave and reckless souls to resist.
Whenever a massive asteroid lines a city up in its crosshairs — and it's just a matter of time before this happens if humanity doesn't take some defensive measures, experts stress — a few rubberneckers are bound to ignore evacuation orders and head toward the impact site to get an eyeful of a once-in-a-lifetime event.
This beautiful and eerie photograph is evidence of what astronomers believe could be remnants of a head-on collision of 2 asteroids, resulting in an X-shaped debris pattern ahead of a long stream of dust that's usually indicative of a comet.
To the people of Chelyabinsk, we would like to offer our heartfelt sympathy and wish all injured a swift recovery.
"As of late afternoon local time, the Interior Ministry said about 1,000 people had been hurt, though the vast majority of injuries are not thought to be serious.
Find out more at CNN.
From Bad Astronomy:
Most craters you see are pretty simple: something impacts the ground at high speed, BOOM!, and you get a crater like a dish tossed into soft sand. But this one has two rings, one inside the other. That can happen with huge impacts producing craters hundreds of kilometers across, but this one is small, only 230 meters from side to side – an American football stadium would just fit inside this crater.
