MOSCOW, February 21 (RIA Novosti) – The first fragment of the meteorite which spectacularly crashed to earth in central Russia last week was delivered to Moscow for analysis on Friday.
“This is the first piece, but it’s not the only one our colleagues collected,” said Mikhail Nazarov, head of the science laboratory where the meteorite will be analyzed.
The scientists’ first tasks will be to weigh and photograph the fragment, he said. The laboratory will then carry out a detailed analysis of the meteorite, Nazarov added.
Over 1,000 people were injured when the massive meteorite streaked across the sky over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on February 15.
NASA estimates the meteorite was roughly 50 feet (15 meters) in diameter when it struck Earth's atmosphere on Friday, travelling several times faster than the speed of sound, and exploded into a fireball brighter than the morning sun.
Fragments of the meteorite have been found in an eight-meter wide crater in the region’s Lake Chebarkul, scientists said earlier this week.
