February 15, 2013 at 9:48am 133 notes
russiameteorhistorysciencespaceastronomytunguska
Source: Los Angeles Times
Remembering the Tunguska event: Today’s meteorite strike in Russia recalls the famous ‘“Tunguska event,” of 1908, in which a powerful explosion rocked the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia. The cause of the explosion, estimated to be between 5 to 30 megatons ofTNT, has been speculated to be a meteor exploding in the atmosphere and crashing into the Earth. For a frame of reference, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima possessed the strength of just 16 kilotons. Though nowhere near as damaging as the Tunguska explosion, which lit up skies from Europe to Asia for days afterward, today’s disastrous meteorite strike casts a tragic pall over the excitement over the asteroid D14, which is projected to narrowly miss Earth. Photo: Trees strewn across the Siberian countryside in 1953 — 45 years after the Tunguska event. Credit: Associated Press

Remembering the Tunguska event: Today’s meteorite strike in Russia recalls the famous ‘“Tunguska event,” of 1908, in which a powerful explosion rocked the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia. The cause of the explosion, estimated to be between 5 to 30 megatons ofTNT, has been speculated to be a meteor exploding in the atmosphere and crashing into the Earth.

For a frame of reference, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima possessed the strength of just 16 kilotons.

Though nowhere near as damaging as the Tunguska explosion, which lit up skies from Europe to Asia for days afterward, today’s disastrous meteorite strike casts a tragic pall over the excitement over the asteroid D14, which is projected to narrowly miss Earth.

Photo: Trees strewn across the Siberian countryside in 1953 — 45 years after the Tunguska event. Credit: Associated Press

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  3. gavinmonster reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias and added:
    I would like to correct the assumed megatonnage of the blast. It is now believed to be between 3 and 5 megatons.
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  15. leplusgrandsacdespetitspois reblogged this from thisisnotmyhomeplanet and added:
    Ahhhhh yes I thought of this when I heard about the meteorite. The Tunguska event was crazy times. And really cool - it...
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    ツングースカ大爆発のはなし？
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