Science Blog ZINC PROJECTS
Smaller asteroids may pose greater danger than previously believed
Date: 22-Dec-07
Author: Sandia National Laboratories
The stunning amount of forest devastation at Tunguska a century ago in Siberia may have been caused by an asteroid only a fraction as large as previously published estimates, Sandia National Laboratories supercomputer simulations suggest.
"The asteroid that caused the extensive damage was much smaller than we had thought," says Sandia principal investigator Mark Boslough of the impact that occurred June 30, 1908. "That such a small object can do this kind of destruction suggests that smaller asteroids are something to consider. Their smaller size indicates such collisions are not as improbable as we had believed."
The Tunguska impact event knocked down and burned over hundreds of square kilometers of trees. Courtesy: Leonid Kulik 1927 expedition
Because smaller asteroids approach Earth statistically more frequently than larger ones, he says, "We should be making more efforts at detecting the smaller ones than we have till now."
Full story: Sandia supercomputers offer new explanation of Tunguska disaster
Related links:
• Wikipedia -- Tunguska event
• 1908 Siberia Explosion: Reconstructing an Asteroid Impact from Eyewitness Accounts
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