Tunguska event may have been caused by iron asteroid that went back into space, researchers say

Tunguska event may have been caused by iron asteroid that went back into space, researchers say

Fox News Flash top headlines for June 1

The Tunguska event, a seismic blast that rocked a remote Siberian forest more than a century ago, is believed to have been caused by a meteor that exploded before it hit the ground. A new study sheds more light on the asteroid, noting it may have never actually hit Earth at all.

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The research, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, theorizes that the asteroid caused a shock wave that resulted in nearly 800 square miles in the Siberian forest to be flattened within seconds, but it never actually hit Earth, as it curved away shortly before breaking up, continuing into space.

"We argue that the Tunguska event was caused by an iron asteroid body, which passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and continued to the near-solar orbit," researchers wrote in the study's abstract.

Aftermath of the Tunguska event. (Credit: AP)


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