It will linger at Vesta, the second most massive object in the asteroid belt, until next summer, when it is scheduled to depart for a larger asteroid called Ceres.

WSJ: Asteroid Vesta Gets a Close Study

Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said scientists believe the object originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

CNN: Planet of sound: Meteor blast resonated around Earth

Abell says the best estimates now are that the Russian object was initially a rocky silicate asteroid that almost certainly originated from the main asteroid belt.

FORBES: NASA Eager To Analyze Russian Meteor Fragments