Parts of Chelyabinsk meteorite will be embedded in special commemorative medals that will be given to the 10 gold medalists at the Sochi Olympics on February 15.
The winter sports stars will get their extra medals exactly one year after a huge chunk of space rock crashed into a lake in the Urals, central Russia.
The 5ft-long rock was later hauled up from icy Lake Chebarkul.
Nearly 40 more of the meteorite medals will be sold to private collectors.
Parts of Chelyabinsk meteorite will be embedded in special commemorative medals that will be given to the 10 gold medalists at the Sochi Olympics
The asteroid explosion over Russia released as much energy as an estimated 500,000 tonnes of TNT, sending a shockwave twice around the globe. It caused widespread damage and injured more than 1,000 people in the Chelyabinsk area.
A meteorite chip is being embedded in the centre of each commemorative medal by specialists at a workshop in Zlatoust, in the Chelyabinsk region, Russian media report.
Russian TV news showed the medals being made in a video report.
The local news website Novyy Region says the medal-crafting technique dates back to 1815 and is very laborious.
The special medals will have a protective nickel coating and will also be adorned with gold and silver.
In total 1,400 medals will be awarded at the Sochi Games, which start next week, and about 100 more will be kept at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Radio Golos Rossii reports.
[youtube lvrac0VrmKA 650]
Fragments from the meteorite that struck Russia’s Urals region on Friday, injuring some 1,200 people, have been found around a frozen lake, Russian scientists say.
The fragments were detected around a frozen lake near Chebarkul, a town in the Chelyabinsk region, where the meteorite is believed to have landed.
Viktor Grohovsky, of the Urals Federal University, told Russian media that the material contained about 10% iron.
Russian officials say the strike caused damage costing 1 billion roubles ($33 million).
Fireballs were seen streaking through the skies above Chelyabinsk, about 1,500 km east of Moscow, followed by loud bangs on Friday morning.
An estimated 200,000 sq m of windows were broken; shattered glass causing most of the injuries reported in Chelyabinsk.
While some 9,000 people have been helping in the clear-up and rescue operation, scientists have been concentrating their search for fragments of the rock around Chebarkul Lake, where a 6 m (20 ft) wide crater had been found following the strike.
“We have just completed the study, we confirm that the particulate matters, found by our expedition in the area of Lake Chebarkul indeed have meteorite nature,” Viktor Grohovsky was quoted by Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency as saying.
“This meteorite is an ordinary chondrite. It is a stony meteorite which contains some 10% of iron. It is most likely to be named Chebarkul meteorite,” he added.
The fragments were detected around a frozen lake near Chebarkul, a town in the Chelyabinsk region, where the meteorite is believed to have landed
A search of the lake bottom by a group of six divers on Saturday had found nothing; and it was thought the search would be delayed until the snow melts in the spring.
Russian scientists say the meteor weighed about 10 tonnes before it entered the Earth’s atmosphere, travelling at some 30 km (19 miles) per second, before breaking apart 30-50 km (20-30 miles) above ground.
However, the US space agency NASA said the meteor was 17 m (55 ft) wide and weighed 10,000 tonnes before entering the atmosphere, releasing about 500 kilotons of energy. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 was 12-15 kilotons.
Scientists have played down suggestions that there is any link between the event in the Urals and 2012 DA14, an asteroid which raced past the Earth later on Friday at a distance of just 27,700km (17,200 miles) – the closest ever for an object of that size.
Such meteor strikes are rare in Russia but one is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (770 sq m) in Siberia in 1908.
[youtube yAMwuFle7Wc]
From marmite-scented perfumes to soaps formulated with breast milk, the beauty world is fond of a bizarre ingredient, but the latest addition to the litany of unusual additions to lotions and potions is literally out of this world.
Just arrived from Spain is Celestial Secret, an anti-ageing range that contains powdered meteorite.
For centuries, meteorites have fascinated scientists and researchers worldwide. Every particle is more than 4.5 billion years old and rich in minerals unknown on our planet.
Along with otherworldly minerals, meteorite dust is also said to be packed with calcium, iron and magnesium – all of which can help benefit skin.
The meteorites used are picked up by nomadic tribes in the Sahara desert before being sent to Spain for powdering and processing.
Combined with extracts from semi-precious stones including haematite, rodochrosite, olivine and smithsonite, as well as botanicals such as beech bud extract, it is said to have potent anti-ageing effects.
Celestial Secret is an anti-ageing range that contains powdered meteorite
The moisturizer claims to works to recuperate and seal the skin barrier for firm, moist, luminous youthful skin.
“The meteorite extract is very hydrating and has proven anti-aging results, proven by outside independent test companies who scientifically test active ingredients.
“Everyone who tries it say that they feel a benefit straight away which improves every day and after only four days you start to see a difference, which just gets better and better.
“We have proven photographic results using a much lower percentage of meteorite extract so we know it really works.”
Along with the main 50ml moisturizer, the Celestial Secret range also includes a professional spa treatment, made up of four professional-only products applied with an anti-stress massage and the brand’s anti-aging youth elixir.
Like the moisturizer, the serum also contains meteorite and precious stone extracts along with more earthly botanicals.
