On This Day In Space: June 30, 1908: Asteroid explosion over Tunguska, Siberia (Image Credit: Space.com)
On June 30, 1908, a giant fireball exploded over the forests of Tunguska in Siberia. The impact leveled hundreds of miles of forest, and the exact cause is a bit of a mystery.
Huge Russian Meteor Blast is Biggest Since 1908 | Infographic
At the time of the explosion, it was too difficult to reach this remote part of Siberia to look for clues about what might have happened. But finally in 1927, a scientist named Leonid Kulik led the first research expedition to investigate the scene. However, they didn’t find a crater or any meteorite fragments, and the mystery remained unsolved.
1st Meteorites from 1908 Tunguska Explosion Possibly Found
Scientists now believe either a comet or an asteroid exploded in the atmosphere instead of striking Earth. This created an air burst with shock waves powerful enough to knock down a forest.
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