Meteorite Hits Russia

Earlier today, while scientists awaited the flyby of near-earth asteroid 2012 DA14, a different space rock entered the earth's atmosphere and exploded above the Ural Mountains region near Chelyabinsk, Russia.  The resulting shockwave damaged several buildings and blew out thousands of windows.  About 1200 people have reported injuries, mostly minor.  So far, army units have found three sites where the meteorite's fragments have impacted on the earth's surface.  According to NASA, this meteorite is unrelated to 2012 DA14, which by now has passed the earth at a distance of about 17,200 miles.

Read more at Russia Today and Gawker, who both have pictures and videos.  One of my friends in the blogworld, Holger Awakens, also has posted some meteoric video.  Here's one from Russia Today, showing the light generated by the explosion:

This meteorite explosion is reminiscent of the Tunguska event, in which a huge explosion took place over Siberia in 1908, which is thought to have been caused by a meteor or a comet entering the earth's atmosphere.  No impact crater has ever been found, but the pattern of fallen trees would turn out to be eerily similar to that of fallen buildings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even though there weren't any known nuclear weapons in 1908. Fox News has more on the Tunguska event.

UPDATE:  KCBS reports another meteor, seen over California.