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Other anomalies

Explosions and falls from the sky

In 1908 a blast over the Siberian taiga flattened 80 million trees, yet no crater was ever found. Today we know such events are usually caused by meteoroids breaking up in the air – as over Chelyabinsk in 2013 – but for decades they fed hypotheses about crashed spacecraft.

cases
7
years
1868–2013

Explained: 7

  1. 19th century

    1. 1868 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Pułtusk Meteorite Shower Near Pułtusk, Mazovia, Poland In January 1868, a fireball blazed over Pułtusk and tens of thousands of stones fell on the area – a record-breaking shower of stony meteorites.

  2. 1900–1909

    1. 1908 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Tunguska Event Podkamennaya Tunguska River basin, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia In June 1908, an explosion over the Siberian taiga flattened some 80 million trees over more than 2,000 km² – no crater was ever found.

  3. 1940–1949

    1. 1947 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Sikhote-Alin Iron Meteorite Shower Sikhote-Alin Mountains, Primorsky Krai, Russia In February 1947, the largest observed shower of iron meteorites – dozens of tons of metal – fell on the taiga of Primorsky Krai.

  4. 1970–1979

    1. 1978 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Crash of the Soviet Satellite Kosmos 954 Near Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada In January 1978, a Soviet satellite with a nuclear reactor burned up over Canada, scattering radioactive debris over a vast area.

  5. 2000–2009

    1. 2002 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Vitim Bolide Near Bodaybo, Vitim River basin, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia In September 2002, a bright fireball exploded over the Siberian taiga in Irkutsk Oblast – it is sometimes called the “little Tunguska.”
    2. 2007 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Carancas Meteorite Crater Carancas, Puno Department, near Lake Titicaca, Peru In September 2007, a meteorite gouged a crater near the Peruvian village of Carancas, and residents began complaining of headaches and nausea.

  6. 2010–2019

    1. 2013 Explosions and falls from the sky · Explained Chelyabinsk Meteor Sky over Chelyabinsk Oblast, Southern Urals, Russia In February 2013, a meteoroid exploded over Chelyabinsk; the shock wave shattered windows in thousands of buildings and injured about 1,500 people.