A Comet over Russia - Literally

By: Richard Monk
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:59
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When many people think of comets hitting the Earth, they look to the far past. In truth, Siberia was home to a much more recent and dramatic event.

Throughout the history of the Earth, many different celestial events have shaped our world. Asteroids and other debris from our Solar System have impacted many parts of the Earth's land masses, leaving craters which evolved into lakes and other significant land formations. Most of these events took place long before man ever walked the Earth, but some have happened as recently as the last 100 years. One event that took place a bit longer ago, but that was definitely significant, happened in Siberia.

The date was June 8, 1908 when a fragment of a comet hit the atmosphere above the vast expanse of Siberia. It is said that the comet piece went streaking across the sky, with a blue-white light that was much stronger and brighter than the sun. The comet fragment exploded while it was still in the atmospheric layers of the Earth (it did not make contact with land), about six to eight kilometers above the ground. This intense explosion caused a blinding flash of light and intense heat, with the light from the explosion being seen up to 1000 kilometers away.

The explosion of the comet over Siberia was not just intense looking or sounding, but it actually caused some very real damage. Right after the explosion, electromagnetic pulse and field abnormalities could be felt, and a magnetic storm started just a few minutes later. This combination of environmental activities caused widespread destruction in the Siberian area that the comet exploded over. The explosion caused trees up to 30 kilometers away from its center to be flattened completely, and the sides of trees up to 60 kilometers away were burned. Over 6000 square kilometers of the Stony Tunguska River Valley forest were completely obliterated, but no crater was found.

This explosion, scientists concluded, had the power of a 30 megaton atomic bomb. It didn't just destroy forests, however. People were also in its path and were killed. Some were burned as an immediate result of the explosion, while others died of mysterious symptoms which today can be likened to toxic poisoning. For this reason, the chief of the Tungus people (at that time) stated that the area was enchanted, and sealed it off to the residents. Looking back, it was also found that plants in the area had mutations but people were flummoxed. While a comet produces massive energy bursts, the destruction is not radioactive in nature.

Due to the remote location of the blast site, the comet event over Siberia went practically unnoticed for a long time. Nonetheless, it serves as a reminder that we are a target for celestial bodies. Had the event involved the entire comet instead of a slice, you might not be reading this.

Richard Monk is with http://www.factsmonk.com - a site with facts about everything.

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