A meteor weighing an estimated 11 tons streaked through the atmosphere at 33,000 miles per hour, hitting Chelyabinsk, Russia, where it injured hundreds.

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Imagine hearing this and not knowing what was happening:

[youtube http://youtu.be/b0cRHsApzt8]

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Here you can see how incredibly bright it is:

[youtube http://youtu.be/LFsZitw6CKk]

And here, look how it streaks across the sky:

[youtube http://youtu.be/lxBFb9jN_HY]

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You can see it from many different angles, but here it feels like it’s heading straight towards you — that burst of bright light — but then it’s far away, curving down towards the ground:

[youtube http://youtu.be/4ZxXYscmgRg]

And this is what it looked like from space:

Here are the answers to your frequently asked questions: No, it was unrelated to the asteroid that’s supposed to pass close to Earth tonight. No, there’s no risk of alien death viruses. Yes, it’s super weird that so many Russians have dashboard cameras (here’s why). No, we’re not all going to die like the dinosaurs. Well, not from this.