At least 1,000 people have been injured in Russia as the result
of a meteor exploding in the air. The energy of the detonation
appears to be equivalent to about 300 kilotons of TNT, said
Margaret Campbell-Brown of the department of physics and
astronomy at the University of Western Ontario. Meanwhile, an
asteroid approached Earth but did not hit it, coming closest at
about 2:25 p.m. ET. You probably have some questions about both
of those events, so here's a brief overview: 1. Are these events
connected? The meteor in Russia and the asteroid that passed by
on Friday afternoon are "completely unrelated," according to
NASA. The trajectory of the meteor differs substantially from
that of asteroid 2012 DA14, NASA said. Estimates on the meteor's
size are preliminary, but it appeared to be about one-third the
size of 2012 DA14. The term "asteroid" can also be used to
describe the rock that exploded over Russia, according to the
European Space Agency and NASA, although it was a relatively
small one. 2. What's the di