Meteor explodes over Russian Urals, injuring 950

In terms of human casualties, Friday's meteorite strike is the worst ever reported, Stuart Clark writes on his Across the Universe blog:

Before this there were only stories of a dog being killed in Egypt by a meteorite in 1911 and a boy being hit, but not seriously injured, by one in Uganda in 1992....

Until Friday morning, astronomers had thought the asteroid most likely to hit Earth was one called 2007 VK184. It is about 130 metres across and has a slim 1 in 2,000 chance of hitting Earth some time between 2048 and 2057. A danger that is thought will disappear with better tracking of its orbit.

Friday's unexpected strike highlights the need for better searches for dangerous asteroids, and a global strategy to deal with any that are seen.

Meteor explodes over Russian Urals, injuring 950