re: #40 Teukka

The Chelyabinsk surprise was about 500 kT yield equivalent. That it didn’t do more damage was because it was a high-altitude burst at 29,000 m. Had it made it down to earth in a populated zone, the body count would have been at least 5 digits.

Russia dodged a bullet with that. I’ve often thought “What if that bolide had airburst at about 200 meters over Chelyabinsk instead of 29,000 meters?” The consequences could’ve been catastrophic, and not just for Russia. The initial moments after something like that would be filled with uncertainty, to say the least; it would take a few minutes to figure out if it was simply a natural disaster or a nuclear strike.