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The facts about the Tunguska event

The 1908 Tunguska Asteroid Impact Event, near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Tunguska, has been reconstructed several times over the years with no actual proven impact crater ever to be found-confusion reigning whether or not it was even a comet or asteroid that came down. Yet today, the astronomy field has finally attributed it to the "detonation of ice material from a comet". These space rocks have fascinated the human mind for centuries-their power and destruction has brought forth many movies and books which have thrilled the imaginations of so many on this dangerous subject. Recently the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft began using its cameras to track its first target-asteroid, (2687) Steins. With this in mind, we also can look at the 2004 nakhlite meteorite which landed in Antarctica as just another one added to the list of "hits" to Earth. But what makes the Tunguska Event stand out among so many over the years?




A MYSTERIOUS 1908 EVENT:

Tunguska is an area located in the central Siberian area of Russia, now present-day Evenkia, an area which received massive destruction that is still partially a mystery at 7:17 a.m.-60 55 North, 101 57 East. The destruction involved approximately 60 million trees over 2,150 square kilometers. Detected on June 30, 1908 were seismic waves and a luminescence night sky over Central Asia and Europe of a gigantic explosion of an unknown cosmic nature, releasing approximately 10 to 15 mega tons of energy, yet no fragments from the body have ever been found. The temperature inside the center was at least tens of thousands of degrees Kelvin.



Scientist theorize that Lake Cheko in the Siberia region may be the location of this early explosion in the air, but it is still unclear. Lake Cheko is located eight miles northwest of what is referred to as the "inferred explosion epicenter". Still considered debatable, the investigation of the event seems to indicate that Lake Cheko fills an impact crater, or even a secondary impact onto nearby swamp ground. The size and shape of the crater is thought to have been affected by the type of ground present in the area, such as the degassing of a permafrost layer in addition to the melting which is related to the impact.




LOCAL INHABITANTS INVOLVED:
In the area at the time of the explosion were Russian settlers and Tungus natives, located in hills northwest of Lake Baikal, who observed the passage of a brilliant blue bolide traveling through the sky before it hit with a column of dust


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

The facts about the Tunguska event

  • 1 of 5

    by Sandra Petersen

    Imagine an atmospheric explosion so powerful that 800 square miles of trees fall to the ground, pointing outward from a central

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  • 2 of 5

    by Cicely Richard

    One hundred years ago, the Tunguska event, a massive explosion, occurred on June 30, 1908 in a sparsely populated area near

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    by Peggy Barnett

    Tunguska

    As the anniversary of one hundred years approaches, a re-examination of the events of 1908 in the Tunguska region

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  • 4 of 5

    by Nancy L. Young-Houser

    The 1908 Tunguska Asteroid Impact Event, near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Tunguska, has been reconstructed several

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  • 5 of 5

    by Vicki Phipps

    It was June 30, 1908 and at exactly 7:17 am when a huge explosion shook the Earth from several miles in the air above the

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