On June 30, 1908, a mysterious incident known as the “Tunguska Event” took place. In the early hours of the morning, the largest asteroid ever recorded struck a sparsely populated, forested area near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia. The explosion was so powerful that seismographs around the world recorded it, with readings equivalent to a magnitude 5.0 earthquake. Interestingly, however, no crater was ever found at the site of the impact.

The impact of the asteroid during the Tunguska Event destroyed over 800 square miles of forest and left damage across an area of approximately 830 square miles. It is the largest recorded impact in history, although evidence suggests that larger impacts may have occurred in prehistoric times. The explosion from the event was so powerful that it is estimated to be equivalent to 15 megatons of TNT, capable of devastating an entire metropolitan area.

Interesting Facts about the Tunguska Event: 

• Witnesses of the event reported seeing a terrifying fireball travel through the sky, followed by heavy smoke and a trembling ground. They also described hot, strong winds that were powerful enough to knock someone off their feet. 
• The event is called a mystery because no one has ever found the crater caused by the impact in the area. Scientists who have studied the Tunguska event refer to it as an “impact event,” despite the lack of a physical crater. The prevailing theory is that the object exploded in the Earth’s atmosphere rather than making contact with the ground, hence the reported “fireball.” 
• The event was visible up to 500 miles away!
• The blast was said to be up to a thousand times more powerful than the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. 
• The explosion illuminated the night sky for several days. There were reports of bright photographs being taken at night, even without the aid of a flash or light bulbs.