Russian Meteor Impact Photos: Nasa Says Meteor Was Too Small to be Detected [PHOTOS]

Just as everyone was preparing for the record pass of Asteroid 2012 DA14, a meteor unexpectedly entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded over the skies of central Russia on Friday. An earlier IBTimes UK report confirmed residents in Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, and Tyumen witnessed the event. During the shower, many reported they experienced a tremor-like shake while window panes of houses were shattered.

The meteor's trail cut a stark and smoky gash across the sky and was witnessed and recorded by hundreds of people, all of whom uploaded the videos on YouTube.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was relieved the meteor did not explode near densely populated areas. A report in the Washington Post said nearly 50 people were hospitalised in what was, according to Margaret Campbell-Brown, an astronomer at the University of Western Ontario, the largest such impact for over a century. Nasa explained that it could not predict the collision because the object was too small.

Small is relative though. According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the meteor weighed approximately 10 tonnes and entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000km/h.

Meanwhile, the eagerly anticipated Asteroid 2012 Da14 passed by the Earth a few hours later.

"What an exciting day! It's like a shooting gallery here. We have two rare events of near-Earth objects approaching the Earth on the same day," Nasa scientist Paul Chodas said, according to CBS News, adding that the two events taking place one after the other was a coincidence.

Scroll down to see images of the aftermath of the meteor shower in Russia...