Fireballs and Explosions in the Sky

Depiction by SW/LITS

June 30, 2011 will mark the anniversary of the day that a catastrophic event happened 103 years ago, over a remote area known as Tunguska, Siberia, Russia.

On the fateful morning of June 30, 1908 at 7:17 a.m., a giant fireball sped north across the Tunguska skies.  Deafening explosions could be heard 300 miles away and a fiery cloud filled the horizon. Those who were within 40 miles of the blast were knocked to the ground, some even knocked unconscious and a few reindeer herders closer to the explosion and exposed, were killed.

Witnesses claimed to have observed a bright blue bolide trailing a column of dust, moments before the blast.

In the aftermath around "ground zero", lay a devastated land.  What wasn't vaporized immediately, was charred and flattened.  Though no crater was found at the time, 80 million trees covering nearly 1,000 square miles lay stripped, charred and flattened, with their bases pointing towards the center of the blast.

Tunguska, Siberia
The Aftermath of an explosion 4 miles above the Earth's surface.

Due to this event, the night skies over Europe and Asia were set aglow for several nights, the night sky bright enough enough to read a newspaper at midnight and for several months around the global, 'atmospheric transparency' was reduced.

It is still speculated today, that the event was caused by a comet fragment, or possibly an asteroid at least 50 meters across, which exploded approximately 4 miles above the surface of Earth.  This explosion generated a force of 10 to 15 megatons of TNT, or 1,000 times the force of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, Japan at the end of World War II.

Other explanations for the Tunguska Event vary from a black hole passing through the Earth, or antimatter explosions, to an alien space ship exploding.  One piece of evidence found in the soil of Tunguska, were microscopic silicate and magnetite spheres.  However, no larger meteorite pieces were found, so the debate rages on.

One thing is for certain, something exploded over Tunguska, Siberia in 1908.  Could it happen again? The answer is "yes" and it has happened, just recently, though no where near the extreme of Tunguska.  Here is just a small sample:

http://www.universetoday.com/21959/exploding-colorado-fireball-100-times-brighter-than-the-moon-video/

http://www.meteoritesusa.com/meteorite-articles/meteors-fireballs-explosions-over-southeast/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8190171/Spectacular-meteor-fireball-explosion-over-Britain-leaves-stargazers-buzzing-ahead-of-Geminid-space-shower.html

http://meteoriteblog.com/large-meteor-fireball-over-pa-explosions-sonic-booms-heard/

I received another comment on recent posts [Man Reports Explosion In Sky Over Granbury, Texas- 6/21/2011 and Update! Man Reports Explosion In Sky Over Granbury, Texas- 6/21/2011], this time from a man in Ohio.  He writes:

Well, here in Ohio, Shaker Heights by the Great Lakes, there was a large explosion in the sky right before the thunder storm ended on Tuesday evening. Funny thing is, it sounded like a plane had just hit the ground and exploded, or imagine a thousand blasts of artillery fire at one time. It did no damage, no lights went out, no fires, no wires down or anything, just a bright orange reddish light that lit up not only the sky but the inside walls of our homes and shook the ground. Afterward people came out of their homes looking around, trying to figure out what it was yet, there was no mention of it has been broadcast on the news or any explanation of what it was.
It's as if the media, weather service and authorities want to pretend it never happened but it did and our neighborhood witnessed it!!

So, are these exploding bolides (extremely bright meteor/fireballs)?
The questions are: just what is the exact cause of the explosions in our night skies, are the authorities hiding the truth and if so, why?  -SW

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