The Tunguska Event

Abstract

The Tunguska meteorite is considered to be one of the most powerful explosions in the history. It is believed that the explosion occurred due to the air burst of a large meteoroid above the earth's surface. Although, it is estimated that the meteoroid burst in the air, but it is still referred as an impact. This research paper aims to examine the event of Tunguska meteorite and it's after affects on the life and society. The paper also provides some recent researches, facts and figures about the event.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

The Tunguska Event4

Introduction4

Discussion4

Description of the Event4

Evidence of Events similar to Tunguska6

Damage Inference from Felled Trees6

Comparison to Blast Damage7

Mystery surrounding Tunguska Event7

Explosion from above8

Explosion from below8

Other Strange Theories8

Recurrence probability of Tunguska-type events9

Conclusion9

References10

The Tunguska Event

Introduction

It was the morning of 30th June, 1908, when a gigantic air burst occurred over Central Siberia, Russia. Eyewitnesses described it as a fire ball which was as bright as the sun. It is estimated that the size of the meteor ranged between 30 meters to 1200 meters, but the exact figure is unknown. The event resulted in the production of seismic and pressure waves that were recorded all around the globe and was 1000 times more powerful than nuclear bomb dropped over Hiroshima in 1945.

Fortunately, the explosion did not cause significant damage to human settlements due to the remote impact location, but it affected that area to a large extent. It is estimated that 80 million trees felled over an area of 2150 square kilometers (Coppens, 2005). Despite the severity and loudness of the explosion, the causes of the event have been an issue of immense speculation for over a century, and no consensus has been reached. Tunguska has often been made responsible for global warming by different scientists.

Discussion

Description of the Event

The Tunguska explosion took place on 30th June, 1908 at 7:17 A.M local time in the central Siberian area of Russia. The first strange thing that appeared on that day was a column of bluish light which was as bright as the sun and was moving across the sky. Ten minutes later, there was a flash and a loud knocking sound that was similar to an artillery fire. Then, the inhabitants felt a shock wave that knocked them off their feet while glasses were broken to a distance of hundred miles from the place of event. The scene was so horrible that the witnesses felt that this might be the end of the world. Seismic stations were then produced across Eurasia after the explosion, which were recorded as 5.0 on the Richter scale (Traynor & Chris, 1997).

Fluctuations were also produced in the atmospheric pressure, which were so strong that they were detected in Europe. Night skies became aglow for the next few days in Europe and Asia. Atmospheric transparency was also observed in the United States that lasted for several months. According to John Baxter and Thomas Atkins, in their book “The Fire Came By”, the height of fire was so enormous that ...