Earth’s history is full of natural, yet atypical phenomena. From the rise and fall of entire species to the creation and erosion of the Earth’s landscape to asteroids impacting the Earth's surface, these types of occurrences have had significant effects on our world. Yet, they occur so gradually or rarely that people are surprised to learn of their occurrences. One such unusual historical event that was actually observed by people and documented by scientists was the Tunguska event.

On the morning of June 30, 1908, near the Tunguska River in Russia’s sparsely populated Siberian region, a 12-megaton explosion devastated the area. The explosion flattened all the trees, vegetation, and wildlife over an area of 830 square miles of forest. Although the shape of the damage on the Earth’s surface was like the shape of a butterfly, to comprehend the damage, a person can generally imagine a box 28 miles by 28 miles square. That was one big explosion!

At the time, Russian settlers reportedly witnessed a column of bluish, bright light moving across the sky. Ten minutes later, there was a flash and sound of an explosion. Eyewitnesses reported hearing the explosion move from the east to the north of them. The sounds were accompanied by a shock wave that knocked people off their feet and shattered windows hundreds of miles away. Witnesses said at least three people may have died from the event.

A Russian expedition to the region in 1927 discovered limbless, still-standing trees across a five-mile area at the epicenter of the explosion. Outside of that area, trees were knocked down away from the epicenter. The event was generally believed to have been caused by a ‘meteor air burst’ of a stony asteroid or meteorite. An air burst occurs when a meteor enters the earth’s atmosphere and then explodes before impacting the ground. Technically, even though there was no impact crater, the Tunguska incident has been classified as an ‘impact event.’ Later samples taken from the region showed evidence of materials present from otherworldly sources.

Although scientists have solid theories and some evidence to support those theories, the nature and eyewitness accounts of the Tunguska event give it a mysterious vibe. It’s lucky for humanity that the event occurred in such a remote area, which prevented the significant loss of human life. But what if another asteroid were to come barreling out of the dark vastness of space on an uninterrupted collision course with Earth? Would we be so lucky as the 1908 event? Or would it be much worse? We’ll just have to wait and see.