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Mysterious massive flash over Russia’s Urals

massive-flash-over-russia-s-urals-stuns-locals-scientists

A massive bright orange flash has lit up the sky over Russia's Sverdlovsk region in the Urals on November 14, 2014 at 13:39 UTC (18:39 local time).

Videos of this "mysterious" explosion, which happened close to last year's Chelyabinsk event, have surfaced yesterday, but there are still no definite explanations by authorities or scientists.

A new meteorite, rocket launch or military exercise in the region are among the top guesses of what happened. Regional emergency services said no accidents in connection with the event had been recorded. A local observatory indicated nothing fell from the sky on the day of the flashRT said.

The event was filmed by several people, but none of the witnesses heard a fiery flash of an explosion. The orange glow blazed for several seconds and then disappeared, E1.ru explained.

YouTube video

YouTube video

Another video shows a flash of fire from a new angle, showing that a bright glow rises from the ground:

YouTube video

According to E1.ru, the emergency officials suggested the military were behind the flash, as they might have had a scheduled explosive ordnance disposal procedure. The city administration has also said such ammunition disposal might have taken place, while the military themselves denied they were behind the mystery.

Astronomer Vladimir Krushinsky, said the color of the flash does not support the asteroid speculation. "The shade of light depends on the body’s temperature, and flashes caused by bolides are usually whiter," he explained to Ekburg.tv. A path of launches from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome lies above the area, Krushinsky said.

This cosmodrome is located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk. It was originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile and it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. With the end of the Soviet Union, Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity.

The new all-Russian Angara rocket, the first Russian rocket designed for civilian space exploration, was designed to be launched primarily from Plesetsk. The first test flight of the Angara took place successfully on July 9, 2014.

YouTube video

According to Russian Federal Space Agency's website, the latest launch from the Plesetsk happened on October 29, with the next one planned for November 24.

Today, E1.ru reported that a similar outbreak was also recorded on November 13. The video was made on the road Artemovskii – Dir, about 15 kilometers from the Shearing:

YouTube video

A similar event was recorded in Singapur on March 18/19, 2010:

YouTube video

Featured image: YT video screenshot of massive orange flash seen on November 14, 2014.

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