nPostednJune 27, 2013
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nAncolumn of blue light shot across the sky. A few Russians saw it andnwondered what on earth it could be.
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n(Hint:nit wasn’t ON Earth.)
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nKa-Blam!
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nAnboom and a flash, and a shock wave that knocked people off theirnfeet. Windows broke.
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nLuckilynfor those people, they were really far away from the explosion. Thenliving things nearby weren’t so lucky: 80 MILLION trees were knockedndown! The felled trees were arranged in a circular pattern with the an epicenter near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, in Russia. n
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nWhatncaused this huge explosion, which happened on this date in 1908?
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nScientistsnbelieve that the Tunguska event was an “airburst” of a largenmeteoroid or comet. It was rushing toward the Earth at great speedsnand began to burn up in our atmosphere. When it was three to sixnmiles (5 – 10 km) away from Earth’s surface, apparently, thenmeteoroid or comet got so hot it exploded. It was the shock wave fromnthis explosion—basically, the air that was pushed strongly and rapidly away fromnthe exploding body—that caused the trees to fall.
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nEvennthough the meteoroid or comet burst in the air rather than hit thenEarth’s surface, this event is still referred to as a meteor (or comet)nimpact. As a matter fact, it is the largest impact event on Earth innrecorded history. The explosion was about a thousand times morenpowerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. n
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nIfnthe event had happened in a populated area, it would have destroyed an entire city!
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Partlynbecause of this event, many people are working on a way to protectnourselves from other, possibly even larger meteoroid, asteroid, andncomet impacts. Read about “laser bees” here, the Don Quijote plan here,nand paintball planetary protection here!
Partlynbecause of this event, many people are working on a way to protectnourselves from other, possibly even larger meteoroid, asteroid, andncomet impacts. Read about “laser bees” here, the Don Quijote plan here,nand paintball planetary protection here! n
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversarynof the discovery of the Excelsior Diamond
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nAnniversarynof the 1859 crossing of Niagara Falls on a tightrope
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nDidnyou hear that Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls on Friday, June 15,n2012, for the first time in history? Well, Wallenda’s crossing was atnthe widest, wildest, wettest spot. This 1859 crossing (by a guy namednGravelet) was a lot tamer because it was higher up on the river. (ButnGravelet later crossed the Falls on a tightrope while blindfolded,nthen while pushing a wheelbarrow, then on stilts, and then whilencarrying another man!!!)
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nPlannahead:
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nHere are my Pinterest pages on Julynholidays, historicalnanniversaries in July,nand Julynbirthdays.
