by Eric Bailey

Created on: November 13, 2009

In 1908, a mysterious event occurred in the Tunguska region of the Siberian tundra forestry. This anomalous occurrence has since been met with rabid interest, considering its spectacular nature, undeniable authenticity, and the intrigue that is only increased by the timeframe: The anomaly happened in an era when audiovisual evidence of the initial happening was impossible to capture, and even the resulting news was somewhat disputable.

However, to this day, photographic evidence definitely exists of at least the aftermath, and many eyewitness accounts were recorded, along with journalistic stories in the time to come.

Overview

Whatever happened was an explosive force that was directed outward from a definite epicenter in the middle of the forest. The result was what appeared to be the consequence of a very powerful explosion: A massively loud sound that was heard for hundreds of miles around, the flattening of trees in outward directions in the surrounding acreage, and various natural debris spread for thousands of feet from the center of the Tunguska explosion.

No one witnessed the force first-hand, or at least nobody claimed to, and there were no human remains found within or near the focal point. Over a hundred years later, discussion still persists as to the origin of the effects.

The Theories

Alien Technology Whether it was a crashing UFO craft, a test of extraterrestrial weaponry, or an intentional use of such an arsenal towards an unknowingly purposeful target, some say the Tunguska explosion was off-planet in origin. While many deride this particular theory as ridiculous and undeserved, it does hold a couple merits. Firstly, it does merit Occam's Razor, which posits that the simplest answer is usually correct, and it is certainly simple to simply suggestion An alien did it! Secondly, after a hundred years, one would think that people could come up with a scientific explanation, using forces we are familiar with. Such a complete explanation has not yet arisen, suggestion that unknown forces, like alien powers, were utilized.

Act of God Very similar to the Alien Technology theory, the Act of God theory suggests that a deity, such as the Christian God or similar, simply caused the event. This is a convenient overture, due to the lack of empirical evidence suggesting otherwise, but obviously encounters difficulty in truly completely convincing people of the Tunguska event's divine origin.

Meteorite Detonation The lack of an obvious or significant crater deters many from believing that a meteorite strike could have caused the Tunguska explosion. However, it has been suggested that a sizable meteorite, entering Earth's atmosphere at significant speed, could account for the unusual effects. Adding to this possibility is the fact that, while such objects would be detected before impact today, in 1908 these capabilities were not present, allowing the potential for such items to forcefully enter the Siberian airspace.

While we may never know for certain what caused the effects seen in Tunguska in 1908, perhaps that is for the better: The anomaly has become one of history's great mysteries, and surely provides fantastic conversational fodder for decades to come.

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