[meteorite-list] Eight-kilogram piece of Chelyabinsk Meteorite Becomes Hit at Sochi Olympics

[Ron Baalke]

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_15/Eight-kilogram-piece-of-Chelyabinsk-meteorite-becomes-hit-in-Olympic-Sochi-1426/

Eight-kilogram piece of Chelyabinsk meteorite becomes hit in Olympic Sochi
Voice of Russia
15 Feburary 2014

[Image]
Photo: Reuters

An eight kilogram shard of the celestial body was set out in the Sochi's 
House of Russian Fans on Saturday, commemorating the first year after 
his fall. 

As the Ministry of Culture representative of the Chelyabinsk region in 
Sochi, Natalia Gritsai said this Saturday, the anniversary of the meteorite's 
first year of terrestrial life turned the exhibition into the most popular 
place of interest at the Olympics.

"Fans from all around the globe come to see the meteorite fragment. People 
express condolences to the people of the Ural. They say that a year ago 
the whole world was distressed for Chelyabinsk. Visitors note that this 
natural phenomenon touched everybody's feelings. Fans say that they are 
glad the meteorite splashed into the lake, not in the city with population 
over one million people," Gritsai said.

"At the same time, people are examining the shard from the celestial body 
with fascination. The age of this thing equals the age of our solar system, 
and they are astounded by this fact. We hear people talk lots of different 
languages at our exhibition today."

Gritsai noted that the 8 kg shard became the centerpiece of the Ural Federal 
District exposition.

"Our exhibition in Sochi will run until the end of the Olympics, as well 
as during the Paralympic Games. People are unlikely to forget this fantastic 
event that happened a year ago. Here in Sochi, residents of different 
countries will be able to touch the fragment of the celestial body, which 
came to us from the unseen depths of space," Gritsai said.

February 15, 2013 meteorite "Chelyabinsk" about 17 meters in diameter 
entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated into a large number of 
fragments, most of which fell into the territory of the Chelyabinsk region.

According to astronomers, it was the largest celestial body to fall on 
the Earth since the time of the Tunguska meteorite in 1908. Shockwave 
partially destroyed the outer glazing in more than 4 thousand residential 
buildings and offices.

Residents of five Russian regions - Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan 
and Bashkiria - could observe this meteor shower. The largest fragment 
of a celestial body weighing about 600 kg was later raised from the bottom 
of Lake Chebarkul (Chelyabinsk region).