# Is it likely that the Russian meteorite was shot down? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792 "2013-02-19T13:45:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/21 "2013-02-19T19:58:43Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > It’s a damn good thing this meteor didn’t land on India or Pakistan… Not that I would be too happy to see such contrails outside my window but…why? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/22 "2013-02-19T20:24:03Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Not that I would be too happy to see such contrails outside my window but…why? North Korea is expecting the US (and pretty much everyone else) to attack it at any moment; their immediate reaction - reason, logic, and evidence be damned - would probably be to interpret the meteor event as a missile attack, and they might be expected to respond with military aggression (to the extent that they are able). India and Pakistan haven’t been real happy with each other for a while either, and so similar circumstances would apply there: each might accuse the other of launching a missile attack, and it might trigger a large-scale military conflict between the two. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/23 "2013-02-19T20:26:33Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Not that I would be too happy to see such contrails outside my window but…why? India and Pakistan both have nukes pointed at each other and are constantly on alert for sneak attacks from the other side. Just saying that it would be far more likely for a meteor to be mistaken for a first strike surprise attack in either of those two countries than in the US or Russia these days. Ninja’d! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/24 "2013-02-19T23:00:17Z")
The thing was, according to the news, 17 meters (!!!) across. Try to imagine what 17 meters of rock weighs. (I think maybe they’re rounding “about 50 feet”) That’s a five-story building! Even a direct hit, with anything short of a nuclear weapon would likely not make much of a dent in the shape or trajectory. OTOH, reentry heat probably did so all on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/25 "2013-02-19T23:32:22Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yes, there is audio in which he points out the differences between the original and ‘doctored’ video, namely that of a shopped object coming in from the left to impact the meteor. And then at 1:40, he starts talking about how a LOT of conspiracy theories are true, like 7 WTC being brought down by a controlled demolition and there was a second shooter in the JFK assassination, and that the Aurora shooter was drugged and mind controlled. Those things are TRUE, all the evidence supports that. :eek: I’m thinking this might not be the best debunking video out there. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/26 "2013-02-19T23:38:14Z")
I think they fired a tiny Bruce Willis at the meteor. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/27 "2013-02-20T01:33:51Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > And then at 1:40, he starts talking about how a LOT of conspiracy theories are true, like 7 WTC being brought down by a controlled demolition and there was a second shooter in the JFK assassination, and that the Aurora shooter was drugged and mind controlled. Those things are TRUE, all the evidence supports that. :eek: > > I’m thinking this might not be the best debunking video out there. Oh, is THAT what “tower 7” means? I was trying to place him on the conspiracy scale. So on one hand if he believes such things, does that mean his believing this is a hoax is wrong i.e. the meteor really was shot down. On the other hand, even conspiracy theorists don’t believe this conspiracy 😃 > [@Bob\_X](#): > > I’m not sure what exactly would constitute “shooting down” a meteor. It has a boatload of kinetic energy, the equivalent of several nuclear weapons, and that energy has to go somewhere. If you can’t deflect the thing before it gets into the earth’s atmosphere, the only effect you can have is to change the altitude at which it blows up: higher is better, to disperse the energy over a wider area. Could you hit it with a kinetic energy penetrator and cause it to break up? The smaller the pieces, the faster they’d burn up. ---
**Author:** ![solosam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/28 "2013-02-20T02:17:22Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > FWIW, one of the early breaking news banner headlines on the Russia Today website in the initial hours of the incident was “Urals meteorite shot down by Russian air defense”. At least they didn’t claim that President Putin shot down the meteor personally. I have no doubt the meteor was picked up by Russian defense systems though, but there’s likely no way they could have pulled together a reaction to it. It’s a damn good thing this meteor didn’t land on India or Pakistan… Coming to you from the same news agency that thought the White House Petition website was a binding legal document. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/29 "2013-02-20T02:54:00Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > The thing was, according to the news, 17 meters (!!!) across. . Maybe when it first entered the atmosphere. I thought that they said it was about ten tons, which would be more on the order of six feet across (assuming mostly round, which may or may not have been the case). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/30 "2013-02-20T04:45:59Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > India and Pakistan both have nukes pointed at each other and are constantly on alert for sneak attacks from the other side. Just saying that it would be far more likely for a meteor to be mistaken for a first strike surprise attack in either of those two countries than in the US or Russia these days. > > Ninja’d! 🙂 :dubious: Let’s see, no specific major crises on. Only one city seems to have been effected. Nothing on radar. Lots of broken windows, but nit much else. You think that they woukd launch a nuclear strike based on that? Sounds very condescending and frankly downright racist, even though I suspect (or at least hope) the later at least was not your intention. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/31 "2013-02-20T05:05:02Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > But it’s been replaced by a schematic showing the meteorite beginning to separate and the missile streaking towards an intercept. It’s still just as accurate as the video and our conclusions from it will be just as valid. I’m waiting for the Lego version. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/32 "2013-02-20T05:17:01Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > > Let’s see, no specific major crises on. Only one city seems to have been effected. Nothing on radar. Lots of broken windows, but nit much else. You think that they woukd launch a nuclear strike based on that? Sounds very condescending and frankly downright racist, even though I suspect (or at least hope) the later at least was not your intention. Dude, the world almost ended in 1983 on much less than that. Able Archer: you can look it up. IOW, lighten up, Francis. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/33 "2013-02-20T05:42:34Z")
Able Archer was a major exercise. Rather different. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/34 "2013-02-20T05:47:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > North Korea is expecting the US (and pretty much everyone else) to attack it at any moment; No, they’re not. Their stunts are pretty much based on the idea that nobody’s actually going to attack them. What they’re hoping for is that their stunts will get people to feed them. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/35 "2013-02-20T06:17:49Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > No. While I agree, I must ask, what was the point of this post? It’s the equivalent of telling a child “because I said so” but twice as arrogant and hollow an answer. Do you just like seeing your username on your screen? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/36 "2013-02-20T06:26:40Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > > Let’s see, no specific major crises on. Only one city seems to have been effected. Nothing on radar. Lots of broken windows, but nit much else. You think that they woukd launch a nuclear strike based on that? Sounds very condescending and frankly downright racist, even though I suspect (or at least hope) the later at least was not your intention. Well, I don’t know. Would they wait for the would be nuke to hit the ground so they could assess the damage befor they hit their little red button? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/37 "2013-02-20T07:53:16Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Able Archer was a major exercise. Rather different. But the potentially world-ending bit was a single event: sunlight bouncing off clouds to hit a Russian spy satellite in just the right way that it generated a false launch alert, for a missile that wasn’t there in the first place. If the Russian meteorite had streaked across the sky just at that moment, rather than thirty years later, I have little doubt that we would not be having this conversation now. But you’re right, to point out that India and Pakistan have been at each other’s throats for half a century now, and Pakistan for its part is a dangerously unstable regime with access to nuclear weapons – why, that’s simply racist of me. Darn my white privilege! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/38 "2013-02-20T12:49:45Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > But you’re right, to point out that India and Pakistan have been at each other’s throats for half a century now, and Pakistan for its part is a dangerously unstable regime with access to nuclear weapons – why, that’s simply racist of me. Darn my white privilege! To presume that professionals whose job is missile warning and who have been doing their jobs for decades now would be unaware of risks of false alarms while you sitting at a computer can ascertain that in passing, yes it is downright racist. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/39 "2013-02-20T13:13:47Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > It’s a damn good thing this meteor didn’t land on India or Pakistan… Actually, on the morning of this most recent incident, Neil deGrasse Tyson was on NBC’s Today show and mentioned just such an incident near the India/Pakistan border during a tense time (I don’t recall when, but he mentioned it), where observations including astronomers confirmed there wasn’t an attack going on, and there were no hostilities, just rattled nerves. So it probably would have been much the same result now as then. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792/40 "2013-02-20T13:27:24Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > To presume that professionals whose job is missile warning and who have been doing their jobs for decades now would be unaware of risks of false alarms while you sitting at a computer can ascertain that in passing, yes it is downright racist. One doesn’t need to _presume_; there are documented instances of false alarms nearly resulting in war. What makes you think someone carping on a website is under anything like the same launch-or-die time pressure under which nuclear deterrent “professionals” operate? The time stamps on your posts indicate it’s taken the two of you from 11:45 pm last night to 7:49 am this morning to have this exchange. That’s 8 hours and four minutes of talking about the crisis. “Professionals” don’t have 8 hours to evaluate a missile threat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-likely-that-the-russian-meteorite-was-shot-down/650792.md?page=3)