June 30, 2022
On this date in 1908, the Tunguska Explosion occurred over a remote region of Siberia, flattening approximately 80 million trees. The 12-megaton explosion is commonly attributed to a meteor air burst, where a large stony meteoroid explodes in Earth’s atmosphere. However, it has recently be theorized that the explosion may have been caused by an asteroid grazing Earth’s atmosphere before continuing out into space.
To read more about the Tunguska explosion and the possible causes, visit: https://astronomy.com/news/2020/10/tunguska-explosion-in-1908-caused-by-asteroid-grazing-earth
A photograph taken in 1927 showing the fallen trees near the Tunguska event site. Image credit: Wikicommons/Soviet Academy of Science
