21 key words from the article (reference)
capable of exploding or bursting suddenly and violently
"An explosive event in February of 2013 shows us the dangers that can happen when space debris strikes our atmosphere."
the layer of gases surrounding a planet, such as the Earth
"An explosive event in February of 2013 shows us the dangers that can happen when space debris strikes our atmosphere."
a piece of rock or debris from space that burns as it enters a planet's atmosphere
"A meteor 20 meters wide travelling at 68,400 km per hour exploded over central Russia near Chelyabinsk."
caused something to break or shatter suddenly, often from pressure
"The blast blew out windows damaging more than 7,000 buildings, and sent more than 1400 people to the hospital with cuts and scrapes."
causing harm or injury to something
"The blast blew out windows damaging more than 7,000 buildings, and sent more than 1400 people to the hospital with cuts and scrapes."
people walking, especially in a street or public area
"The shock wave was so strong that many early morning pedestrians were thrown to the ground."
the outer or topmost layer of something
"Fortunately, the blast was 40 km high above earth's surface which allowed the earth's atmosphere to absorb most of the shock."
to take in or soak up something, such as force or energy
"Fortunately, the blast was 40 km high above earth's surface which allowed the earth's atmosphere to absorb most of the shock."
happened; took place
"If the blast had occurred closer to the ground or if the giant rock was just several meters larger, the destruction would have been enormous."
extremely large in size or amount
"If the blast had occurred closer to the ground or if the giant rock was just several meters larger, the destruction would have been enormous."
flattening or destroying something completely, reducing it to the ground
"The destruction would have been enormous---levelling buildings and killing thousands of people."
far away from cities or populated areas; isolated
"This blast is the biggest known meteor explosion since the 1908 Tunguska meteor blast which flattened 80 million trees in a remote area of Siberia."
flattened or destroyed something completely
"The Tunguska blast levelled an area more than twice the size of the New York city metropolitan area."
the chance or probability that something will happen
"These two events show us not only the danger but the likelihood of larger objects striking the earth."
the act of destroying something; severe damage
"These two events show us not only the danger but the likelihood of larger objects striking the earth and causing complete destruction of cities."
widespread and severe destruction or damage
"These two events show us the likelihood of larger objects striking the earth and causing complete destruction of cities or even complete devastation to the whole planet."
following and monitoring the movement or progress of something
"America's national space agency, NASA, takes these threats seriously and has established a program for finding and tracking near earth objects (NEOs)."
up until now; so far
"More than 13,500 NEOs of all sizes have been discovered to date."
discovered or noticed the presence of something
"About 1,500 new NEOs are detected each year."
to cause something to change direction, especially to avoid a collision
"NASA also has long-term planetary defense goals which include finding ways to deflect or redirect objects that are on an impact course with Earth."
the action of one object hitting another with force; a collision
"NASA also has long-term planetary defense goals which include finding ways to deflect or redirect objects that are on an impact course with Earth."