Tunguskaesemény

The Tunguska event was a massive explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia, on the morning of June 30, 1908. The explosion is estimated to have been between 10 to 30 megatons of TNT equivalent, flattening an estimated 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 square kilometers. It is the largest impact event in recorded human history.

Eyewitness accounts from the sparsely populated region describe a bright, fiery object streaking across the sky, followed by a loud roar and a powerful shockwave. The event caused significant destruction to the surrounding taiga forest, but remarkably, no human fatalities were directly attributed to the blast.

The exact cause of the Tunguska event remains a subject of scientific debate. The most widely accepted theory is that it was caused by the atmospheric explosion of a large meteoroid or comet fragment. This object likely disintegrated several kilometers above the Earth's surface, creating the massive blast wave. Other theories have proposed the impact of a small asteroid, a volcanic eruption, or even a man-made event, though these are less supported by evidence.

Despite numerous expeditions to the remote site, no impact crater has ever been found. This absence of a crater is consistent with the theory of an airburst, where the object explodes before reaching the ground. The Tunguska event continues to be a significant event in the study of asteroid and comet impacts and their potential consequences for Earth.