The Tunguska space body flew at a low velocity and exploded due to the internal energy of its substance, not due to the energy of motion. Its explosion had a high concentration of energy, approaching that of a nuclear explosion. Also, it was accompanied by ionizing radiation and radioactive fallout.
Was Tunguska a nuclear explosion?
What caused the explosion in Tunguska in 1908?
In the early morning of June 30, 1908, a massive explosion flattened entire forests in a remote region of Eastern Siberia along the Tunguska River. … Khrennikov and co say the explosion was caused by an asteroid that grazed the Earth, entering the atmosphere at a shallow angle and then passing out again into space.
What really happened in Tunguska?
Tunguska event, enormous explosion that is estimated to have occurred at 7:14 am plus or minus one minute on June 30, 1908, at an altitude of 5–10 km (15,000–30,000 feet), flattening some 2,000 square km (500,000 acres) and charring more than 100 square km of pine forest near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in central …
Why was there no crater at Tunguska?
Here is what scientists think happened: Objects of a suitable size for this type of explosion collide with Earth every few hundred years on average. The explosion likely happened at an altitude of 5–10 km (15,000–30,000 feet), therefore leaving no impact crater.
Was Tunguska a methane explosion?
Finally, in June 1908, the covering rocks were shattered by the compressed gases and bursts of burning methane caused the series of explosions as described in some accounts.
How big was Tunguska?
830 square miles Bottom line: The Tunguska explosion on June 30, 1908, was the largest asteroid impact in recorded history. It flattened 830 square miles (2150 sq km) of Siberian forest. Researchers are preparing for future Tunguska-sized events.
What is Siberian Tunguska?
The Tunguska event (occasionally also called the Tunguska incident) was a tremendous ~12 megaton explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of June 30, 1908. …
How loud was the Tunguska meteor?
The sound from the Tunguska meteor was measured with a decibel rating of 300-315. … From 250 feet away, the explosion from a one-ton bomb can reach staggering levels of up to 210 decibels.
How often does a Tunguska event occur?
every 100 to 1,000 years Using the age of fossil craters of large impacts and historical accounts of small meteors, scientists extrapolated the missing data for medium-sized impacts. Based on such estimates, a Tunguska-like event happens every 100 to 1,000 years.