The Aftenposten newspaper in Norway reports that early
Wednesday morning, the country was struck by a meteor that
had the
explosive force of the atomic bomb that was dropped on
Hiroshima in 1945.
The meteor hit the side of a mountain. There are no reports
of damage or casualties, but if the impact was as great as
it appears, it is one of the most significant such events in
decades.
Aftenposten quoted Norwegian astronomer Knut J?rgen R?ed
?degaard as saying, "There were ground tremors, a house
shook and a curtain was blown into the house. This is simply
exceptional. I cannot imagine that we have had such a
powerful meteorite impact in Norway in modern times. If the
meteorite was as large as it seems to have been, we can
compare it to the Hiroshima bomb. Of course the meteorite is
not radioactive, but in explosive force we may be able to
compare it to the (atomic) bomb." ?degaard seemed surprised
by the fact that no astronomer anywhere in the world was
aware that this meteor was on its way.
?degaard said the meteorite was visible for over 100 miles.
Despite the fact that in summer, the midnight sky in Norway
stays lit up by the sun, the meteor flash was witnessed by
almost everyone in the country. Residents of the northern
part of Norway, especially, reported seeing a "ball of fire"
that took several seconds to streak across the sky.
Peter Bruvold, who caught the meteor on camera, says, "I saw
a brilliant flash of light in the sky, and this became a
light with a tail of smoke." He then heard an enormous
crash. He says, "I heard the bang seven minutes later. It
sounded like when you set off a solid charge of dynamite a
kilometer (over half a mile) away."
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