Tunguska Event

About

The Tunguska event was a massive explosion that occurred on June 30, 1908, in a remote area of Siberia, Russia. It flattened trees over an area of approximately 2,150 square kilometers near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. The explosion is believed to have been caused by an asteroid or comet that entered Earth's atmosphere and exploded at an altitude of about 5 to 10 kilometers. This event, known as an airburst, did not create a crater but released immense energy, estimated to be between 3 and 50 megatons of TNT. The impact was significant, with eyewitnesses describing a bright fireball and a sound similar to artillery fire. The blast wave was powerful enough to knock people off their feet and break windows hundreds of kilometers away. Despite its remote location, the event had far-reaching effects, including seismic recordings across Eurasia and unusual nighttime glows in Asia and Europe. The Tunguska event remains the largest recorded impact in Earth's history, and it has been extensively studied to understand the potential risks of similar events in the future.