Tungus event revisited
Reference is made to the Tungus Event of 1908 and to the suggestion of Jackson and Ryan (Nature 245: 88 (1973)) that a mini'' black hole was responsible for it. It is pointed out, however, that such a small hypothetical object cannot account for all the phenomena known to accompany the event. On the night of the Tungnska fall, and for several subsequent nights, the Tungus and adjacent regions experienced abnormally bright skies, and the whole of the northern hemisphere experienced anomalous extinction of atmospheric light subsequent to the fall. The soil samples in the Tungus area contained numerous small magnetic globules with high Ni content, but although this affirms that the globules were of extraterrestrial origin, it does not necessarily mean that they originated from the Tungus Event. Most soil samples collected at random over the globe contain similar cosmic dust. In addltion to the magnetic globules iused silicate-magnetite globules were found in the area near the Tunguska epicentre; this type of cosmic remnant has not been found elsewhere in the world. The data support the hypothesis that the Tunguska Event was caused by a comet with a head composed of Fe and silicate fragments cemented together by frozen volatiles, and on contact with the earth's atmosphere the comet exploded, scattering dust and fragments and leaving no significant crater. It seems that the comet hypothesis is more likely than the black hole hypothesis; the possibility is not excluded, however, that a black hole may have comprised the nucleus of the comet. (UK)
- Research Organization:
- Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA
- NSA Number:
- NSA-29-022091
- OSTI ID:
- 4322886
- Journal Information:
- Nature (London), v. 247, no. 5437, pp. 139-140, Journal Name: Nature (London), v. 247, no. 5437, pp. 139-140; ISSN NATUA
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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AUTORADIOGRAPHY OF WOOD SPECIMENS FROM THE REGION AFFECTED BY THE FALL OF THE TUNGUS METEORITE