Normally, the Sun is the brightest object you see in the sky, but on the morning of February 15th, 2013, this wasn’t the case. Just minutes after sunrise, over 18 miles up, an object entering the Earth’s atmosphere exploded over the town of Chelyabinsk in Russia. This object, known as the Chelyabinsk meteor, has since become one of the most witnessed entries of an extraterrestrial object.

The phenomenon was quickly shared all across the globe — the Chelyabinsk meteorite was only of the only impact events to be witness by a large group of people in the 21st century, which means a uniquely large amount of footage is available thanks to cell phones and dashcam footage.

The impressive meteorite reached a top speed of over 40,000 miles per hour and after the explosion, pieces flew across the Russian snowbanks where they were discovered by collectors.

This specimen is a Chelyabinsk meteorite fragment. These pieces are quite large and come in either one of our glass-topped riker display boxes or a hinged jewelry box with a golf tee style stand depending on the size. Both a certificate of authenticity and informational photo card are also included with your fragment.

The specimens are priced by size and each is a unique meteorite fragment. All do show some measure of the black fusion crust created by the intense heat and speed of the meteorite. This crust is a clear indicator of the fragment's powerful stellar origins.

You can see all available Chelyabinsk specimens below, as well as our classic sized specimen.

The Chelyabinsk meteor is referred to as a bolide, a term for objects which appear like fireballs during entry. The light seen over Chelyabinsk peaked with a magnitude of -27.3, 30 times brighter than the Sun itself. Anyone awake in the early morning would have immediately seen the shift in light, with shadows cast from extreme angles that moved with the arc of the meteor.

This meteor had a massive 66-foot diameter and is estimated to have weighed over 13,000 tons. At its fastest, it was moving at over 40,000 miles per hour, almost 60 times the speed of sound.

Shortly after the meteor hit its brightest point, it shattered in a powerful explosion that sent a shockwave of force from the sky. Pieces of the object were flung west of Chelyabinsk, with many meteorites leaving holes in the morning’s snowbanks. Several fragments would eventually be found in Lake Chebarkul, with one weighing up to 1,442 pounds. While it was fortunate that there were no major damages from the impact, the airburst was powerful enough to affect things on the ground.

The shock waves from the explosion damaged over 7000 regional buildings and sent over 1000 people to the hospital, mostly suffering from lacerations from flying glass. The event was so powerful it created a dust belt in the stratosphere that circled the entire planet and lingered for months. Witnesses claimed they had to turn away from the intense heat and light and some even suffered from sunburns. Videos quickly appeared on the Internet where millions around the world viewed the event soon after it occurred.

While the event has had no reported deaths, it has raised some fears over unpreparedness for subsequent meteorites. The space around the planet is filled with objects whose orbits cross with Earth, so many in fact, that it is impossible to track them all. Many of these burn up into nothing in the atmosphere, but obviously not all of them. The Chelyabinsk meteor went undetected until its entry and was the largest meteor to enter the atmosphere since Tunguska in 1908. Before this incident, it was thought that such large strikes were a once-in-centuries event. Now, some think it may be a once-in-decades event.

The Chelyabinsk meteorite is what's known as a chondrite — a stony meteorite full of round mineral grains. These meteorites are made up of iron oxides and silicates that originated from a larger body in the asteroid belt.

The dark black outer layer of the meteorite is a relatively new addition though; it was created during the entry to Earth's atmosphere. This outer coating is what's known as a fusion crust. When the Chelyabinsk meteorite rocketed to the ground, the high speed and air friction caused its exterior to rapidly heat up. A thin layer of material melted and quickly cooled, turning into a dark and glassy coating.

This fusion crust is a prime indicator of meteorite material, as the conditions to create it are not found in natural places on Earth. Interplanetary travel is the only way for such a feature to appear in a natural stone.