Chart of the Day

The Cold War of Meteorites, Mapped

Guardian
Esther Zuckerman 1,708 Views Feb 15, 2013

The meteorite that fell in Russia today confused, worried, and generally took everyone by surprise Friday morningThe 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: 

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