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| Russian Scientists Say They Found Meteorite Fragments | Russian Scientists Say They Found Meteorite Fragments |
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| CHELYABINSK, Russia – Russian scientists say tiny stony fragments found on the ice of Lake Chebarkul are pieces of a meteorite that punched a hole in the lake, though Russia’s emergency services ministry said earlier that a team of divers had found no evidence that the meteorite had landed there. | |
| Viktor Grokhovsky, a member of the Russian Academy of Science’s committee on meteorites, said scientists have examined 53 fragments they collected around the hole in the lake, all less than a centimeter in size. | Viktor Grokhovsky, a member of the Russian Academy of Science’s committee on meteorites, said scientists have examined 53 fragments they collected around the hole in the lake, all less than a centimeter in size. |
| “The fragments we have found are traces of the outer layer of the meteorite – there is a melted crust and so forth – which means that the basic mass lies there, in the lake,” Mr. Grokhovsky told the Interfax news service on Monday. He said he believed the meteorite was probably no larger than two feet in diameter. | “The fragments we have found are traces of the outer layer of the meteorite – there is a melted crust and so forth – which means that the basic mass lies there, in the lake,” Mr. Grokhovsky told the Interfax news service on Monday. He said he believed the meteorite was probably no larger than two feet in diameter. |
| Since the meteorite illuminated the sky on Friday morning, a parade of journalists and curiosity-seekers have trekked across the ice of Lake Chebarkul, about 50 miles from the city of Chelyabinsk, one of four sites that the government believes felt a significant impact. A witness who was on the lake shore on Friday said she saw a star growing brighter until it resembled the sun, and instinctively closed her eyes. | |
| Mr. Grokhovsky, of Urals State University, said a group of local scientists visited the lake and gathered the fragments around the hole in the ice, which is about 20 feet in diameter. | Mr. Grokhovsky, of Urals State University, said a group of local scientists visited the lake and gathered the fragments around the hole in the ice, which is about 20 feet in diameter. |
| He said preliminary examination suggested the fragments were stone, composed of around 10 percent iron. In comments to RIA-Novosti, he said emergency officials had not allowed the scientists to approach the edge of the hole, but they retrieved 53 fragments and delivered them to a university laboratory for analysis. | He said preliminary examination suggested the fragments were stone, composed of around 10 percent iron. In comments to RIA-Novosti, he said emergency officials had not allowed the scientists to approach the edge of the hole, but they retrieved 53 fragments and delivered them to a university laboratory for analysis. |
| On Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Services Ministry said a dive expedition had been completed and “found no traces of the meteorite,” Interfax reported. Igor Murog, the deputy governor of the Chelyabinsk district, told the news service that he believed the hole in Lake Chebarkul had not been caused by a meteorite. | On Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Services Ministry said a dive expedition had been completed and “found no traces of the meteorite,” Interfax reported. Igor Murog, the deputy governor of the Chelyabinsk district, told the news service that he believed the hole in Lake Chebarkul had not been caused by a meteorite. |
| NASA has said the meteor weighed upward of 7,000 tons when it entered the earth’s atmosphere and exploded over the Ural Mountains region around 9:20 a.m. local time on Friday with the force of 500 kilotons of TNT. Small fragments likely reached the earth, NASA said. | NASA has said the meteor weighed upward of 7,000 tons when it entered the earth’s atmosphere and exploded over the Ural Mountains region around 9:20 a.m. local time on Friday with the force of 500 kilotons of TNT. Small fragments likely reached the earth, NASA said. |
Andrew E. Kramer reported from Chelyabinsk, Russia, and Ellen Barry from Moscow. | Andrew E. Kramer reported from Chelyabinsk, Russia, and Ellen Barry from Moscow. |