The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor exploded 15 miles above Earth, injuring 1,500 people and damaging 7,000 buildings. Some researchers link it to the Taurid meteor stream, a potential key to the Younger Dryas impact event. | The Randall Carlson

On February 15, 2013, a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, creating the most powerful atmospheric entry event in recorded history since the 1908 Tunguska explosion. The superbolide entered Earth's atmosphere at approximately 9:20 a.m. local time, traveling at over 40,000 miles per hour. The meteor measured roughly 20 meters in diameter and weighed an estimated 12,000-13,000 metric tons before its explosive disintegration. The airburst occurred at an altitude of about 18.5 miles above the