The Tungus Event, or The Great Siberian Meteorite

Sound Bite

Something exploded above Siberia in 1908 and no one is quite sure what or why. What burned 830 square miles of forest and some 30 million trees on a fine summer's morning? This book combines a hard popular science approach and lively description of the "Tungus event", giving the reader the stories of the early expeditions, the research that has gone on over a century, and a range of possible explanations.

About the Book

This popular science book shares the fascination of the Tungus Event, a major mystery of the 20th century, in a factual and informed way. It provides "on-the-ground" descriptions of the site and explains the findings and the puzzlement of international scientists who have investigated it over the decades.

After a brief and readable overview of comets, meteors, the sun and the solar system, the author ponders the range of possible explanations for the "great Siberian meteorite." The research is up to date, factual and scientific. While making no absurd claims to solving the puzzle, the author studies some intriguing clues in NASA’s orbit diagrams for Comet Encke, and he is bold in discussing the possible causes of what was the greatest natural explosion in recorded history. As he points out, hypotheses include rogue asteroids, mini black holes and even alien intervention. (These explanations are not entirely equal to the facts.)

In the unique case of the Tunguska event, there was wholesale destruction to the mighty taiga woodlands but none of the debris that one would expect should exist from the body itself. Evidence like a strewn field of meteorite debris or meteoric dust on the trees and ground were never found, nor were any craters, in the area beneath the site of the fireball nor anywhere along the path it took.

There are no craters because the Tunguska Cosmic Body (TCB) did not hit the ground. Atmospheric anomalies prior to the dramatic appearance of the fiery body puzzlingly occurred for several days, adding to the enigma.

There are just a handful of English-language books on this subject. The most recent, The Tunguska Mystery, by the Russian Rubstov (Astronomers Universe, Springer Science 2009) is authoritative but highly technical and hard going for the general reader. Mr. Engledew instead tells the story in a balanced and engaging style.

Introduction

The Tungus Event, or The Great Siberian Meteorite by John Engledew offers a comprehensive and factual examination of the mysterious explosion that occurred over Siberia in 1908. This event, which devastated some 830 square miles of forest and felled around 30 million trees, remains one of the greatest natural enigmas of the 20th century. Despite over a century of investigation, no definitive scientific explanation has been universally accepted.

Engledew's book draws on a wide range of sources, including detailed eye-witness accounts from the remote Evenki people and early scientific expeditions that explored the site. The author presents the physical and chemical properties of meteors, comets, and asteroids, as well as insights into solar phenomena such as coronal mass ejections, providing readers with essential background to understand the complexities of the event.

The book explores the primary hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the Tunguska event. Among these are the cometary hypothesis, which suggests the object was a fragment of Comet Encke or another cometary body; the asteroid hypothesis, favoring a dense, stony or stony-iron asteroid that exploded in the atmosphere; and less conventional ideas such as a solar plasmoid—an energetic, magnetically shielded plasma body possibly ejected from the Sun. Engledew discusses the evidence supporting and contradicting each theory, noting the absence of expected meteorite debris or a crater, which challenges traditional impact models.

Engledew also reviews atmospheric phenomena observed before and after the explosion, such as unusual bright twilights and dust clouds, and considers their possible connection to the event. The narrative touches on the scientific and cultural context, including Soviet academic investigations, indigenous beliefs, and the broader astronomical environment, such as the role of Near Earth Objects and meteor streams.

The book refrains from endorsing any single explanation but emphasizes the value of a scientific approach grounded in available evidence. It acknowledges the event’s unique nature—no other recorded incident matches its scale and characteristics—and underscores the continuing relevance of understanding such cosmic threats. Engledew’s work is accessible to general readers while providing enough scientific detail to engage those with a background in astronomy or Earth sciences. It serves both as a historical account and a thoughtful analysis of one of the most puzzling natural phenomena in recent history.