Russian Siberia Comet Fragment
On June 30, 1908, a comet fragment collided with the earth's atmosphere in Russian Siberia. A great blue-white fireball, brighter than the Sun streaked through the sky, exploded six to eight kilometers in the atmosphere with a blinding flash and intense pulse of heat. The blast could be heard over 1,000 kilometers away. An electromagnetic pulse like anomalies were reported, and magnetic storm began a few minutes after the explosion.
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Local and multinational teams of scientists have visited the site and observed the destruction that has taken place. The explosion flattened trees 30 kilometers from the central point in the Stony Tunguska River Valley. Sides of trees were burned 60 kilometers away. The blast destroyed over 6,000 square kilometers of forest as the pillar of smoke and dust rose over the area. No crater was found.
Some scientists believe that a two kilogram fragment came from Encke's comet. Scientists have concluded the explosion had the energy of a 30 megaton hydrogen bomb.
- People were burned and died unusual deaths that are similar to radiation exposures from nuclear blast. The chief of the Tungus people declared the area enchanted and sealed off.
- Both plant and animal life at the epicenter and along the trajectory have been affected genetically. Trees and plants have an accelerated growth rate.
There were no meteorite pieces. Tiny green globules of melted dust called trinitites were discovered in the area, similar to those produced at the Trinity site of the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico.