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Scientists are now beginning to unravel what must be one
of the great mysteries of this century. Nobody knew
exactly what happened one day when an explosion rocked
the Siberian countryside and sent silvery clouds round
the earth. It took place on the early morning of 30
June, 1908. Hundreds of square miles of Siberian forest
were flattened and burned by a mysterious fireball that
fell from the sky. The explosion was the equivalent of
1,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The heat incinerated herds
of reindeer and charred tens of thousands of evergreens.
For days and for thousand of miles down the earth, the
sky remained bright at night with an eerie orange glow.
As far as western Europe, people were able to read at
night without a lamp. The explosion had taken place in a
remote area known more specifically as Tunguska.
It was so remote and inaccessible that it took another
19 years before the first Russian scientist, Leonid Kulid, came to Tunguska. He was rewarded by a stunning
sight of utter devastation. Scorched trees laid down in
rows that stretched to the horizon. Kulid led a total of
five expeditions to the area over a span of 14 years.
They looked for a crater but found none. Then, they
looked for fragments or traces of a meteorite but could
find none. In the nearest villages, eyewitnesses told of
a fireball streaking through the sky, horrifying noise
and a blast that knocked people off their feet. Clearly
something unprecedented had occurred at Tunguska, but
the trees were the only tangible proof that remained.
Despite the inconclusive evidence gathered, Kulid was
certain that a meteorite had caused the inferno. He died
in 1942 as a prisoner of war during World War II.
Interest in the mystery surfaced again in the late
fifties after a Russian army colonel reasoned that only
a nuclear explosion could have caused the bizarre
wreckage at Tunguska. Since humans did not have the
technology then, he suggested in a book that the
explosion in 1908 was caused by an exploding spaceship.
Other Russian scientists then decided that they could
solve the mystery. It turned out that they too could not
come to any decisive conclusion.
For three decades, Tunguska remained an exclusively
Russian scientific investigation because the two nearest
cities, Tromsk and Krasnoyarsk, were centres for
research into military technology and thus closed to
foreigners. With the end of the cold war, other
scientists were at last able to study the site. Using
the latest techniques, these western researchers found
tiny particles with an `extraterrestrial signature'
embedded in the Tunguska trees.
Combined with computer simulations, the evidence points
to a meteorite that fragmented in the atmosphere. For
many researchers, the debate is no longer whether the
cause was a meteorite but exactly what kind of a
meteorite. Continuing the studies have a very practical
aspect to it. Impacts of comets or meteorites,
collectively known as bolides, is a worthwhile subject
of study for scientists. In 1994, a comet named
Shoemaker-Levy gave the planet Jupiter a black eye when
it collided into it. Bolides have peppered Earth in the
past as well. Scientists suspect that a particularly big
bolide caused the extinction of the dinosaurs millions
of years ago. There is always a possibility of another
strike in the future. |
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1. |
According to the passage, what is the mystery that scientists are now
beginning to unravel ? |
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2. |
From the first paragraph, what happened to the Siberian trees and
wildlife ? |
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3. |
Why was it possible to read without a light in Europe during that time ? |
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4. |
(a) 'It
was so remote and inaccessible'. Explain what this means with
your own words.
(b) Identify one impact this
had on investigation. |
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5. |
What did Kulid see at the site ? |
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6. |
'They looked for a crater but
found none'.
(a) What is meant by 'a
crater' ?
(b) what would have caused
the crater to form ? |
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7. |
What were the eyewitnesses' account of he event that happened ? |
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8. |
What was Kulid's conclusion and what
evidence did he have ? |
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9. |
What caused a renewed interest in the
mystery later on ? |
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10. |
Why was the site closed to foreigners for many years ? |
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11. |
What happened to the planet Jupiter in 1994 ? Single out a phrase from
the text to support your answer. |
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| Answers |
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1. |
It is the mystery of an explosion that
rocked the Siberian countryside on the 30th of June 1908. |
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2. |
For hundreds of square miles, the Siberian
trees and whildlife were flattened and burned. |
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3. |
During that time, the sky in Europe remained bright at night with an
eerie orange glow. |
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4. |
(a) Tunguska was very
sparsely populated and there was no proper transport network linking it
to other parts of the country.
(b) It took 19 years before
the first scientist came to Tunguska. |
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5. |
at the site, Kulid saw rows
of burned trees that seemed to stretch endlessly. |
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6. |
(a) It means 'a hollow in the
ground'.
(b) The impact of the
meteorite on the ground. |
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7. |
They saw a fireball that streaked across the sky followed by a
horrifying noise and a blast that knocked them off their feet. |
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8. |
Kulid was sure that a meteorite had caused the explosion but e had no
clear evidence. |
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9. |
The interest was renewed when
a book by a army colonel suggested that it was an exploding spaceship
that caused the explosion. |
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10. |
It was closed to foreigners because the two nearest cities, Tromsk and
Krasnoyarsk, were centers for research into military technology. |
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11. |
In 1994, a comet named Shoemaker-Levy collided into Jupiter making a big
hole. The phrase is 'a black eye'. |
