Russia's massive meteorite: By the numbers

A fragment of the Russian meteorite that could sell for $2,220 per gram.

(Image credit: Reuters)

last updated 8 January 2015

The bad news about the gigantic meteorite that crashed into the central Russian area of Chelyabinsk on Friday — the largest to hit the Earth in more than 100 years — is the unpleasant reminder that "space is out to kill you," says Spencer Ackerman at Wired. And "all the advanced air defenses that humanity has invested in?" The missiles, rockets, and early warning systems are all "useless, useless against a meteorite onslaught." The good news? "Space rocks are lousy shots," and most of the Earth's surface isn't inhabited by mankind. How big and powerful — and valuable — is this particular meteorite? Here's a look, by the numbers:

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10,000

Weight of the meteorite, in tons

500

Amount of energy, in kilotons, put out by the meteor as it neared Earth — 30 times the energy of the atomic bomb that struck Hiroshima

1,500

Injuries reported from the meteorite explosions, mostly from shattered windowpanes

$33 million

Estimated cost of the damage, according to local officials

1908

Last time a meteorite this large is recorded hitting the Earth, in Tunguska, Siberia

80 million

Trees flattened by the 1908 meteorite

40,000

Estimated speed of Friday's meteor, in miles per hour, before crashing, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos

567

Typical cruising speed of a Boeing 747, in miles per hour

Diameter, in feet, of a hole in frozen Lake Chebarkul, believed to be where a large chunk crashed through the ice

"Small, stony, black objects," confirmed as meteorite fragments, that scientists have recovered so far from around Lake Chebarkul

$2,220

Price per gram of recovered fragments of the meteorite — 40 times the price of gold — according to Dmitry Kachkalin, a member of the Russian Society of Amateur Meteorite Lovers

5,000

Rough estimate of known meteors 100 feet in diameter or bigger that could hit Earth, according to NASA

Sources: Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN, Guardian, Reuters, Space.com, Wall Street Journal, Wired

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.