2002 Eastern Mediterranean event

Short description: Atmospheric explosion above the Mediterranean Sea, caused by small asteroid

[ ⚑ ]  34°N 21°E﻿ / ﻿34°N 21°E﻿ / 34; 21

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2002 Eastern Mediterranean event

The 2002 Eastern Mediterranean Event was a high-energy upper atmosphere explosion over the Mediterranean Sea, around 34°N 21°E (between Libya and Crete) on June 6, 2002.[1] This explosion, similar in power to a small atomic bomb, has been related to a small asteroid undetected while approaching Earth. The object disintegrated as a meteor air burst over the sea, and no meteorite fragments were recovered.

The event occurred during the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff, and there were concerns by General Simon Worden of the U.S. Air Force that if the upper atmosphere explosion had occurred closer to Pakistan or India , it could have sparked a nuclear war between the two countries.[2]

## See also

* Impact event
* Near-Earth object
* Potentially hazardous asteroid
* Vela incident

## References

1. ↑ "Speech by Gen. Simon Worden: 'Military Perspectives on the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Threat'". SpaceRef. United States Space Command. 2002-07-15. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=8834. "Had you been situated on a vessel directly underneath the intensely bright flash would have been followed by a shock wave that would have rattled the entire ship and possibly caused minor damage."
2. ↑ "Near-Earth Objects Pose Threat, General Says". Space Daily. 2002-09-17. http://www.spacedaily.com/news/deepimpact-02s.html.

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Modern impact events

On Earth|

| Pre-2000|

* 1490 Ch'ing-yang
* 1783 Great Meteor
* 1860 Great Meteor
* 1896 Madrid Meteor
* 1908 Tunguska
* 1913 Great Meteor Procession
* 1930 Curuçá River
* 1938 Chicora meteor
* 1947 Sikhote-Alin meteorite
* 1969 Murchison meteorite
* 1972 Great Daylight Fireball
* 1990 Earth-grazing meteoroid

|

Post-2000|

* 2002 Eastern Mediterranean
* 2002 Vitim
* 2007 Carancas
* 2008 TC3 impact
* 2008 Buzzard Coulee meteorite
* 2009 Sulawesi superbolide
* 2012 Sutter's Mill meteorite
* 2012 UK meteoroid
* 2012 Novato meteorite
* 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor
* Chelyabinsk meteorite
* 2014 AA impact
* 2014 Ontario fireball
* 2015 Kerala meteorite
* 2015 Thailand bolide
* WT1190F impact
* 2017 China bolide
* 2018 LA impact
* 2018 Kamchatka meteor
* 2019 MO impact

On Jupiter|

* 1994 Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
* 2009 Jupiter impact
* 2010 Jupiter impact

Lists|

* Asteroid close approaches to Earth
* Comets
* Bolides
* Meteor air bursts
* Meteorite falls
* Minor planets
* crossing Earth's orbit

See also|

* Asteroid impact prediction
* Asteroid impact avoidance
* Bolide
* Earth-grazing fireball
* Meteor procession
* Meteor shower
* Meteorite
* Meteoroid
* Near-Earth object
* Potentially hazardous object

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