The meteorite that fell in Russia today confused, worried, and generally took everyone by surprise Friday morning. The Guardian offers some context to the cosmic event by publishing a map of where meteorites have fallen throughout history — at least the recorded ones. And it shows that America actually gets a lot more of these intense crash landings (or miracle sightings, depending on how you like your space happenings) than, you know, Siberia. The map depicts "where scientists have found meteorites, or the impact craters of meteorites, some dating back as far as the year 2,300 BC." You can see the data set used here. The various colors of the dots on the map indicate the mass of the meteor:

Take an up-close look at the U.S.'s meteors:

Now let's compare that to Russia:

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments
or send an email to the author at
ezuckerman at theatlantic dot com.
You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Esther Zuckerman



User Comments
Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register