Meteorite expert on chances of US strike - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Meteorite expert on chances of US strike

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It's been less than a week since a meteor traveling 40 thousand mile per hour, weighing 10 thousand tons hurtled to the earth in Russia, injuring over a thousand people.

Can it happen here and what can we learn from meteorites?

Dr. Denton Ebel of the American Museum of Natural History joined GDNY on Thursday to offer some answers.

"These are rare events. Don't stress out about it. All that has seems to have been collected are very small pieces of this very large rock, 55 feet," said Dr. Ebel.

Despite the rarity of a meteor strike, how prepared is the United States for a hit?

"Our ability to see these things far away as they come is much better. What we don't have is a good plan for what to do. Hopefully, we'd have many years of worrying."

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