Tunguska 100 years on
August 13th 2008 11:18
It has been over 100 years since a devastating meteorite struck the former USSR remote region of Tunguska Siberia. Although the asteroid that stuck Tunguska was small the effect to the surrounding countryside was swift and brutal.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding as to what caused the actual destruction of over 80 million trees. Some say it was caused by a colliding black hole but this theory has been largely discounted as the cause.
What has fuelled the mystery is that no impact crater has been found. The most probable cause of the destruction was a medium sized asteroid that fragmented and exploded high above the ground; the explosion blast wave covered 2150 square kilometers the effect was likened to a small yield nuclear blast.
Eye witnesses reported seeing a bright flash of light seen over a wide area of the country. The explosion occurred over a large unpopulated area and the event stirred little curiosity with government at the time. It was nearly 20 years before an expedition was mounted.
They reached the area of devastation in search of iron fragments that would point to a meteorite. The expedition walked more than 20 kilometers and did not find any crater. What they did see was masses of burned trees lying on the ground like giant matchsticks. Later expeditions in the area did find chemical discrepancies and small samples of glass spheres subsequent analysis found that they contained high traces of iridium a common element found in meteorites. And there the matter began to rest; the lack of a crater became an accepted part of the Tunguska mystery.
In 2007 a group of scientist from Italy spotted something that had been previously overlooked. Lake Cheko is only 5 kilometers from the epicenter. The lake attracted the attention of the science team because it did not appear on maps until 1929.
The lake was investigated by sonar the team did find something large submerged in 20 meters below the lakebed. Could this be a fragment of the meteorite? It could be just a large area of compacted sediment. There only one way to tell, that is to find funding for another expedition this time with larger drilling equipment hopefully another expedition will take place in 2009.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding as to what caused the actual destruction of over 80 million trees. Some say it was caused by a colliding black hole but this theory has been largely discounted as the cause.
Tunguska blast site: (C)Kulik 1927
Eye witnesses reported seeing a bright flash of light seen over a wide area of the country. The explosion occurred over a large unpopulated area and the event stirred little curiosity with government at the time. It was nearly 20 years before an expedition was mounted.
They reached the area of devastation in search of iron fragments that would point to a meteorite. The expedition walked more than 20 kilometers and did not find any crater. What they did see was masses of burned trees lying on the ground like giant matchsticks. Later expeditions in the area did find chemical discrepancies and small samples of glass spheres subsequent analysis found that they contained high traces of iridium a common element found in meteorites. And there the matter began to rest; the lack of a crater became an accepted part of the Tunguska mystery.
These twin fallen trees in the now rejuvenated Tunguska forest bear silent testimony to the devastating impact Credit: V. Romeiko
In 2007 a group of scientist from Italy spotted something that had been previously overlooked. Lake Cheko is only 5 kilometers from the epicenter. The lake attracted the attention of the science team because it did not appear on maps until 1929.
The lake was investigated by sonar the team did find something large submerged in 20 meters below the lakebed. Could this be a fragment of the meteorite? It could be just a large area of compacted sediment. There only one way to tell, that is to find funding for another expedition this time with larger drilling equipment hopefully another expedition will take place in 2009.
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Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Some years later (I forget who) suggested it was a chondrite that exploded above ground. Based on small fragments found in one investigation.
It will be interesting to see what the next investigation suggests.
Crashed aliens?
I am not going to lay any money on that bet.
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
Chondrites are the most common type of meteorite.
In this case it was much larger, perhaps an old comet nucleus that had been dormant or an asteroid fragment.
Yes I guess we will have to wait until the finding from the next expedition.
Crashed aliens, not improbable but not a likely scenario
Comment by Clint Emry
Strategy and Solutions
These pics are very cool!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I've always been fascinated by that event.
Cheers for the post.
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
I am not aware of any theory regarding Telsa causing this particular effect. He was mostly into electricity and magnetism, plasma etc. He certainly did not get the recognition he deserved.
The early Russian regime was not very interested in what happened in Siberia at the time.
Research into what happened was mostly conducted by foreign research teams.
Cheers
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
The Tunguska incident makes interesting reading.
If the Impact had occurred in a more populated area it no doubt have had more media coverage.
Thank you for the comment.