The Aftenposten newspaper in Norway reports that earlyWednesday morning, the country was struck by a meteor thathad theexplosive force of the atomic bomb that was dropped onHiroshima in 1945.The meteor hit the side of a mountain. There are no reportsof damage or casualties, but if the impact was as great asit appears, it is one of the most significant such events indecades.
Aftenposten quoted Norwegian astronomer Knut J?rgen R?ed?degaard as saying, "There were ground tremors, a houseshook and a curtain was blown into the house. This is simplyexceptional. I cannot imagine that we have had such apowerful meteorite impact in Norway in modern times. If themeteorite was as large as it seems to have been, we cancompare it to the Hiroshima bomb. Of course the meteorite isnot radioactive, but in explosive force we may be able tocompare it to the (atomic) bomb." ?degaard seemed surprisedby the fact that no astronomer anywhere in the world wasaware that this meteor was on its way.
?degaard said the meteorite was visible for over 100 miles.Despite the fact that in summer, the midnight sky in Norwaystays lit up by the sun, the meteor flash was witnessed byalmost everyone in the country. Residents of the northernpart of Norway, especially, reported seeing a "ball of fire"that took several seconds to streak across the sky.
Peter Bruvold, who caught the meteor on camera, says, "I sawa brilliant flash of light in the sky, and this became alight with a tail of smoke." He then heard an enormouscrash. He says, "I heard the bang seven minutes later. Itsounded like when you set off a solid charge of dynamite akilometer (over half a mile) away."
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