Be warned: the video below is terrifying. It's the moment a meteor shoots across the sky above the Ural Mountains in Russia.

The meteor was captured entering the earth's atmosphere by a dashboard-mounted camera - common amongst motorists in this part of the world - just before it set off blasts injuring more than 500 people.

According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the meteor flew across the Chelyabinsk region at speeds of around 54,000kph, before shattering some 50 kilometres above ground. The fallout caused horrific explosions and damage to everything in its path.

Viktor Prokofiev, a resident of Yekaterinburg, was quoted by The Guardian as saying: "I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day. I felt like I was blinded by headlights."

You can see what he's talking about in the video below. Oh, and if you're wondering why there are so many dashboard-mounted cameras on Russian cars, it's because driving in Russia is pretty... dangerous. As you've probably spotted on YouTube, the roads there can get pretty hairy.

Tags: meteor, meteorite, russian meteor, hardware, russian