' Meteors might play a bigger role in regulation of our climate than
previously thought.

The latest observations of an asteroid disintegrating as it entered the
atmosphere suggest that the resulting cloud is composed of larger
pieces of material than expected. The asteroid released as much energy
as a nuclear bomb on its way through the atmosphere, according to
Scientific American.

Scientists, led by Andrew Klekociuk of the Australian Antarctic
Division, studied the progress of the million-kilogram shooting star in
unprecedented detail, using visible light and infra-red observation
equipment on orbiting satellites.

Klekociuk and his colleagues found fragments of asteroid as large as 20
micrometres across in the resulting dust cloud, big enough to have an
impact on the climate. ... '

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RL