Tunguska Event

Tunguska is a remote area of north-central Siberia, Russia. In 1908, tribes of native people and outlying fur trading posts occupied the swampy land near the river known as Stony Tunguska. In the early morning of June 30, the sky lit up brilliantly and, according to the witnesses, there was great heat, tremendous roaring and booming noises followed by earth tremors and a hot wind. Some had reported seeing a fireball descending to the earth at an angle. The blast flattened trees outward from the center for miles, burned forests, killed herds of reindeer and devastated a huge area (2150 sq. km). The column of flame that burned for weeks caused a glowing sky and enhanced sunsets in parts of Europe and Asia. Immediately, scientists suspected that an asteroid or comet had struck at the location. However, it was not until 1927 that the first Russian investigators could mount an expedition to the site to see it. They found no crater and no debris.

The prevailing explanation of the Tunguska event was that a stony meteorite had exploded about 8 km above ground, leaving no surface depression and little debris but resulting in a shock wave that accounted for the terrible destruction. In later trips to map the zone and collect samples, some scientists found tiny spherules in the ground or small pieces embedded in trees but not all researchers were convinces these are pieces of space debris. Not one, but four areas of focus were identified within the main 60 km round "impact" area. As international groups of scientists continued to the area for study, they could not agree on the cause. They cited reports of geomagnetic storms that couldn’t be explained by the meteorite theory and incidents of strange accelerated growth of plants in the affected area, genetic anomalies in the plants, animals and people of the region, problems with eyewitness reports, and more. Several alternate theories appeared such as nuclear explosion, earth interaction with a black hole or antimatter stream and even an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship. Those who suspected a nuclear cause looked for radiation but found none. The topic of Tunguska gained a tainted reputation in Russia. The mystery surrounding the event became well-known in mainstream culture through documentaries and publications about the paranormal. However, there continues to be genuine scientific inquiry into the Tunguska event. The most recent theory is that a high-pressure jet of natural gas was released from underground; then, atmospheric conditions caused it to ignite. No one theory yet satisfies the researchers still attempting to unravel this catastrophic anomaly.

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