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Meteor blazing over Russia captured on video

The shocking sight of a meteor over Russia this morning was captured in dramatic fashion by many cameras.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Richard Trenholm
2 min read

It turns out that Russian dashboard cameras aren't just for providing YouTube with comically hair-raising footage -- sometimes they spot heavenly bodies too. The shocking sight of a meteor over Russia this morning was captured in dramatic fashion by many cameras.

At 9:20am local time -- twenty past three in the morning for us -- the meteor streaked across the sky above Chelyabinsk, in Russia's Ural Mountains with a booming series of explosions.

Over 500 people were hurt, mostly injured by glass from explosions, and at least three are reported to be in serious condition. No deaths have been reported so far.

The meteor also blazed across the Internet, shooting across YouTube videos and Twitter posts. There's no shortage of jaw-dropping videos -- here's a couple that show the meteor crashing to earth.

Many Russian drivers have dashboard cameras for insurance purposes and to combat police corruption, meaning that plenty of vehicles were perfectly equipped captured the meteor's spectacular passage overhead.

Here you can see the enormous contrail marking the meteor's passage.

This video reveals the terrifying sound of the meteor's sonic boom shockwave, breaking windows and setting off car alarms.

Shot from inside, this video reveals how the sonic boom and subsequent explosions echoes rumbled on.

This video suggests injuries could have been caused by Russians understandably going outside to see the meteor, only for the shockwave to break windows and send glass raining down.

No debris has been found from the meteor, which may have crashed into a lake.

A meteor is a particle from an asteroid or comet that burns up in the atmosphere. If it hits the ground it's a meteorite, and if it just stays in space it's a meteoroid. So there you go, we've all learned something.