Russian meteor path plotted in Google Maps

Latest update / Ultimo aggiornamento: 2016/02/15 21:45.

Copyright EUMETSAT

Meteosat-9 image of meteoroid trail aligned with Kazakhstan border in Google Maps.
Credit: Paolo Attivissimo

I've taken the Meteosat-9 image of the Russian meteoroid trail and used the Kazakhstan border that is digitally superimposed on standard Meteosat-9 images to align the image with the border in Google Maps. The result is shown above. The letter A indicates the city of Celyabinsk. Based on this, the trail as photographed would appear to extend for approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles).

I hope this is useful in reconstructing the trajectory of the meteoroid. Please feel free to use the composite image: just link back to this post or mention my name (Paolo Attivissimo) in the credits.

Another plot, made independently by Daniele, is on Flickr here.

This article has been updated to correct the name of the Meteosat satellite, which is Meteosat-9, not Meteosat-10 as reported initially. It was also updated on 2016/02/15 to add that it was linked and credited by astronomer Phil Plait on Slate.

Italiano: ho preso un’immagine del satellite Meteosat-9 che mostra la scia della meteora e l'ho allineata con Google Maps. La lettera A indica la città di Celyabinsk. La scia risulta lunga circa 320 chilometri. Spero che quest’analisi possa essere utile nella ricostruzione della traiettoria e della velocità della meteora.