The Tunguska Event
A huge explosion in the sky over remote Siberia in 1908 flattened some 2,150 square kilometres of forest without leaving a clear impact crater.
- Region
- Krasnoyarsk Krai
- Country
- Russia
- Category
- Unexplained
- Date
- 30 June 1908
- Continent
- Asia
The report
On the morning of 30 June 1908 a bright fireball was seen crossing the sky above central Siberia, followed by a powerful explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. Trees were felled over roughly 2,150 square kilometres, windows were broken far away and local herders described a flash, a blast and a hot wind. The leading scientific explanation is that a stony asteroid, or possibly a comet fragment, exploded in an air burst several kilometres above the ground, releasing energy estimated at around 10 to 15 megatons of TNT. No fragment has been formally identified, and the exact nature of the body is still debated.
Sources and further reading
Location
60.9031, 101.9097