A huge chunk of the inhabited Northern Hemisphere is taken up by Russia, so it’s probable they’d get more than their fair share of impacts. A meteor falling over Canada’s Northwest Territories would probably be seen by very few.
A meteor falling in the Southern Hemisphere is much more likely to end up landing in the ocean, unseen by anyone.
It is very unlikely that they are related. To begin with, 2012DA14 is approaching from the Southern Hemisphere, and this meteorite impacted well in the Northern Hemisphere. Also, at the moment this meteorite entered the atmosphere, 2012DA14 was on the other side of Earth. So, not only the Chelyabinsk meteorite hit the opposite hemisphere, it also was coming from almost the diametrically opposite area of the sky.
I am sure there might be some mechanism by which these two objects might be related, but I find it extremely unlikely.
Neil deGrasse Tyson was interviewed by the Today show this morning and reiterated the excellent explanation above about how they were unrelated.
He also cited an incident in the (IIRC) '90s where something similar happened in the border region between India and Pakistan during a time of nuclear tension, and how being able to demonstrate that it was of extra-terrestrial origin helped avoid any potential overreaction on either side. I think he mentioned Russia’s size, and also noted how most of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and thus similar happening over the Pacific Ocean might not be seen by anyone.
Being on the other cside of the earth doesn’t prove lack of relation – the objects are clearly separated in any case, and the diameter of the earth is still close on these scales – but if it was coming from a different direction that would invalidate the “almost on the same elliptical path” suggestion.
But is that the case? I haven’t heard that elsewhere, and the way you’ve worded your statement it doesn’t explicitly say the paths are significantly different.
Not sure I understand this distinction. Isn’t a lot of Russian territory no more densely inhabited than Canada’s Northwest? The recent story about the family living in isolation in the Taiga called it one of the least densely populated areas on earth.
Early evidence suggests the one that hit came from a very different direction to 2012-DA14. If true, they cannot be related.
Could the Russian meteor be associated with the Perseids?
The previous link to Phil Plait’s column says that precisely.
Surely this is related to the NK nuke test earthquake.
It’s entirely the wrong time of year for that. The Perseids are in August. There are plenty of other meteorite showers throughout the year, but I haven’t heard or read anything that associates either of these bodies with any of them.
Every indication is that that they are completely unrelated and merely a coincidence. Coincidences happen ya’ know.
Isn’t the amount of phtographic/video evidence for this one unprecedented? I’m seeing numerous angles already and more will certainly continue to come in, much like with all that for Japan’s tsunami.
Seems like the wealth of video of the event is thanks to the average Russian’s terrible driving habits, which inspired everyone over there to install dash cams
That’s astonishing. It sure makes it easier for the layman to understand how Tunguska-like effects could be generated. It will be interesting to see if they’re able to detect a discernable pattern produced by this one’s blast geometry. Wasn’t Tunguska’s butterfly shaped?
Two meteorite threads merged.
Do a lot of people there have dash cams for some reason, or are we just seeing the tiny percentage that do? It seems like there must be a lot for so many to have caught this momentary event.
Russia, and “Russia” in the sense of the old USSR, is a honking big area of land. It’s a larger target than, say, Luxemburg.
Lots of insurance fraud in Russia. The solution has been dash cams, which provide proof of intent. This one, for example, shows one car putting on its turn signal, stopping, and then deliberately backing up into the car behind it to make it look like they were rear-ended. The woman driver of the first car gets out and acts all indignant until the driver of the second car points out his dash cam.
This is just viral marketing for Man of Steel.