LAS CRUCES — After a meteoroid exploded over Russia, injuring a thousand people and grabbing headlines across the world Friday, the Sun-News posed a few questions to a New Mexico State University researcher who's knowledgeable about the topic.

Adam McKay is earning a Ph.D. in astronomy and studies comets, asteroids and meteoroids.

The preliminary information is that an object with a 10 to 50 foot diameter entered Earth's atmosphere, heated up as it passed through the air and exploded about 20 to 30 miles above the ground, McKay said via email. One fragment has been found, and more discoveries will likely follow, he said.

"The explosion created a shock wave, which resulted in the injuries associated with the meteoroid impact," he said. "Fragments of the meteoroid were then scattered over the region."

McKay said he's hopeful the incident will lead to increased funding for survey programs that look for potentially hazardous meteoroids that pass near Earth.

SN: What is a meteoroid? How is that different from a meteor?

McKay: A meteoroid refers to a piece of rock — ranging in size from sand particles to bus-sized — in outer space. If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it heats up and creates a streak of light called a meteor. If the meteoroid survives long enough to reach the ground, then what remains of the meteoroid on the ground is called a meteorite.

SN: What's your assessment of what happened in Russia?

McKay: Thousands of meteoroids strike the Earth every day.


However, most of these are very small and do not reach the ground. The few that reach the ground usually do not have a large impact because they happen to fall in rural areas. This is the first instance where a large meteoroid has had a large effect on a populated area.

There are many survey programs in place to try to find meteoroids that could hit the Earth, but it is very hard to find objects much smaller than a football field.

SN: While the Russia meteoroid was certainly impactful from a social perspective, is it noteworthy from a scientific perspective, too? If so, why?

McKay: Anytime a meteoroid hits the Earth, there is scientific value, especially if the meteoroid — or at least fragments of it — are found on the ground. These pieces are often our best way to analyze material from outer space. Analysis of any fragments of this meteoroid that are found will tell us its composition. The study of meteorites — i.e. the pieces of the meteoroid that reach the ground — is important for understanding how our solar system formed.

SN: There was initially conflicting information about whether the meteoroid was related to an asteroid that was expected to pass near Earth the same day. What is your take?

McKay: The meteoroid that exploded over Russia is in no way related to asteroid 2012 DA14 which made a close pass to Earth (Friday). The paths they follow as they travel through space are very different.

SN: Do you think there's any risk for more large meteoroids in the coming hours or days?

McKay: Though sometimes meteoroids can be found in large groups — these are responsible for famous meteor showers such as the Perseids and Leonids — most are solitary nomads. This one is likely a solitary nomad, so there is no reason to expect more impacts in the next few days.

SN: What else is notable about this meteoroid?

McKay: At the present time this meteoroid does not seem particularly special — other than it hit the Earth. Study of the fragments and the trajectory of the meteoroid through the atmosphere will give us a lot more information on the specific properties of the meteoroid that exploded over Russia.


On the Web

New Mexico State University Astronomy Department: