An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The violent impact of a comet or meteorite in the Tunguska region of Siberia on 30 June 1908. The object exploded in the atmosphere before touching the ground at an estimated height of 5-10 km. Observers reported seeing a fireball as bright as the Sun. The explosion caused a shock wave that shook buildings and caused damage, though there was no loss of human life. The first expedition to the remote area of the explosion took place in 1927. An estimated 80 million trees covering more than 2,150 square km were flattened. The energy of the explosion is estimated to have been equivalent to that of about 15 → megatons of TNT , a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

From the name of the central Siberian region, Russ. Podkamennaya (Lower Stony) Tunguska River, today Krasnoyarsk Krai; → event.