How to Predict Meteorite Shower
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Vyacheslav Emeljyanenko, professor at the Institute of Astronomy: From the Earth we can notice a coming meteorite at least in 12 hours.
The meteorite that fell in Chelyabinsk probably was following the Sun direction.
As long as it was moving in the Sun's light, none of the telescopes could catch it.
Faina Rubleva, science director of Moscow Planetarium: The Earth is constantly bombarded by meteorites. Every day bigger or smaller ones fall on the planet's surface. The whole weight might achieve several tonnes.
This is a thing of chance. Random phenomena provoked by random events.
As opposed to large asteroids that follow orbits that are stationary, smaller ones are not anchored to such fixed tracks.
Sometimes they loose their orbits, collide with other shards on a high speed and a powerful collision happens.
During these clashes they are destroyed and the fragments are scattered in different directions.
Some of them fall on the Moon surface forming cratersÉothers collide with the Earth.
But prediction of the exact time when such a clash occurs and the direction of fragments' flight is hardly possible.
The threat of the collision with space objects huge enough to destroy the life on the Earth would be 100% predicted. There are no global threats at the moment.
I can declare it because all prominent asteroids are observed. Today the question is how to predict such meteor showers that took place in Chelyabinsk.
