Hopes and dreams were dashed when asteroid 2012 DA14 missed the U.S. capital and, in fact, the entire planet - much like a baseball thrown by Obama. Not to be denied, however, the Russians demostrated their superiority by hosting one in their airspace.
The contrails or, in astronomical lingo, the train, is impressive enough; the blast is out of this world. It seems that the visiting object landed in the vicinity of Chelyabinsk, which is Russian for "Smallville".
Some reports indicate that the streaker rivalled the sun in terms of brightness; certainly, as the above video demonstrates, the sonic boom generated a tremendous shock wave, and some 43 people were hospitalized, according to recent reports from government there. Nearly 1000 reported injured, mostly minor, from falling glass and other debris.
I've also retrieved shots taken of shock-wave damage to a zinc factory and apartment building. A large collection of such photos are available on several sites, with more pouring in.
