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The Great Siberian Impact: Meteorite, Comet, or Micro-Black Hole?

Somewhere between 7 and 8 a.m. on June 30th, 1908, a massive explosion occurred near the Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia. Numerous theories have emerged throughout the last century attempting to describe what it was that caused this mysterious explosion, dubbed the Tunguska Event.

Eyewitnesses described a diffuse bright ball two or three times larger than the sun but not as bright;  the trail was a "fiery-white band."

Largest Impact Crater on Planet Earth

The asteroid that hit Vredefort located in the Free State Province of South Africa is one of the largest to ever impact Earth, estimated at over 10 km (6 miles) wide, although it is believed by many that the original size of the impact structure could have been 250 km in diameter, or possibly larger(though the Wilkes Land crater in Antarctica, if confirmed to have been the result of an impact event, is even larger at 500 kilometers across). The town of Vredefort is situated in the crater. Dating back 2,023 million years, it is the oldest astrobleme found on earth so far, with a radius of 190km, it is also the most deeply eroded. Vredefort Dome bears witness to the world’s greatest known single energy release event, which caused devastating global change, including, according to many scientists, major evolutionary changes. Tomorrow I'll be posting an impact-crater map of the planet (it's scary!). Original posting by Casey Kazan.

See also Deep Impact -A Video

The Great Siberian Impact: Meteorite, Comet, or Micro-Black Hole?

Somewhere between 7 and 8 a.m. on June 30th, 1908, a massive explosion occurred near the Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia. Numerous theories have emerged throughout the last century attempting to describe what it was that caused this mysterious explosion, dubbed the Tunguska Event.

Eyewitnesses described a diffuse bright ball two or three times larger than the sun but not as bright;  the trail was a "fiery-white band."

Largest Impact Crater on Planet Earth

The asteroid that hit Vredefort located in the Free State Province of South Africa is one of the largest to ever impact Earth, estimated at over 10 km (6 miles) wide, although it is believed by many that the original size of the impact structure could have been 250 km in diameter, or possibly larger(though the Wilkes Land crater in Antarctica, if confirmed to have been the result of an impact event, is even larger at 500 kilometers across). The town of Vredefort is situated in the crater. Dating back 2,023 million years, it is the oldest astrobleme found on earth so far, with a radius of 190km, it is also the most deeply eroded. Vredefort Dome bears witness to the world’s greatest known single energy release event, which caused devastating global change, including, according to many scientists, major evolutionary changes. Tomorrow I'll be posting an impact-crater map of the planet (it's scary!). Original posting by Casey Kazan.

See also Deep Impact -A Video