The 1908 Tunguska Explosion essays

The 1908 Tunguska Explosion essays Not much is known about the Tunguska explosion and many scientists have different opinions and theories about what could have caused such mass destruction. Pictures or painting of the event are unavailable because of the isolated area and early date of this occurrence. We should thank the Russian scientists for recording eyewitness stories and descriptions, for which we can each, infer and judge what really happened. June 30, 1908; 7:17 AM seismic vibrations were recorded as much as 1000 km by early instruments while the fiery cloud of debris and "deafening bangs" could be seen and heard nearly 500 km away. Information recorded by onlookers and witnesses reveal that a group of reindeer herders, approximately 60 km away from Ground Zero, were propelled into the air and some were even knocked unconscious from the explosion. Among the few deaths, one of the reindeer herders was blown into the air and hit a tree, hence dying from severe trauma. Witnesses from a nearby town Kirensk described the event: "A ball of fire...coming down obliquely. A few minutes later [we heard] separate deafening crash like peals of thunder...followed by eight loud bangs like gunshots." "A ball of fire appeared in the sky... As it approached the ground, it took on a flattened shape..." "A flying star with a fiery tail; its tail disappeared into the air." While one witness from the town of Vanovana, 60 km south of the explosion brilliantly described the event: ...I was sitting in the porch of the house at the trading station of Vanovara at breakfast time...when suddenly in the north...the sky was split in two and high above the forest the whole northern part of the sky appeared to be covered with fire. At that moment I felt great heat as if my shirt had caught fire; this heat came from the north side. I wanted to pull off my shirt and throw it away, but at that moment there was a bang in the sky, and a mighty crash was heard. I was...