NASA HISTORY TALK: THE MYSTERY OF THE SIBERIAN EXPLOSION: AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE TUNGUSKA EVENT
Time/Date/Location: noon – 1 pm ET, Wednesday October 26, virtual via
MS
Teams link
Speaker: Dr. Andy Bruno, Northern Illinois University
Description:
In 1908 the Tunguska explosion in Siberia knocked down an area of forest larger than London. Most scientists believe that a fragment of an asteroid or a comet caused the blast, but neither
a crater nor unmistakable remnants of a meteorite have ever been found. Over the last century, the mysterious nature of the event has prompted a wide array of speculation and investigation, including from science fiction writers and voluntary researchers.
Some have even explained Tunguska as a nuclear explosion triggered by aliens.
This presentation will recount the intriguing history of the Tunguska event and the investigations into it. Foregrounding the significance of mystery in environmental history,
it will show how efforts to understand the explosion have shaped the treatment of the landscape, how uncertainty allowed alternative forms of knowledge to enter scientific conversations, and how cosmic disasters have influenced the past and might affect the
future.
Stephen Garber
(he/him)
NASA History Division
Office of Communications
NASA Headquarters
Mary W. Jackson Building, Room 5P25
Washington, DC 20546
202-358-0385
