Tunguska Explosion: Nuclear Event or Asteroid?

[timejim]

Was this a real Nuclear event or has it been determined factually yet? If it was, would this necessarily mean it had to come from a Nuclear device or system of some sort? If so, by whom? Could it have been from a "Tesla" experiment? I have heard that it may have been caused by an Asteroid exploding, but wouldn't that have been a lesser explosion with considerable debris impacting the Earth?

 

[Andy]

I would like to believe that it was Tesla's who did that, apparently he aimed for the north pole with a high energy particle beam doohiky but overshot and hit tunguska. But an Asteroid exploding in the atmosphere seems to be the accepted theory although although there isn't any definet evidence supporting it.

 

[mathman]

There was a tremendous blast with no debris. An asteroid would have left something, so it was most likely a large meteor or meteorite.

 

[marcus]

Originally posted by mathman
There was a tremendous blast with no debris. An asteroid would have left something, so it was most likely a large meteor or meteorite.

I heard the icy nucleus of a comet. probably this idea is offered to help explain the absence of solid debris since much would have vaporized. do you have anything more by way of detail---an estimate of the things mass etc.?

 

[HallsofIvy]

At least some sci-fi stories have claimed it was a micro-black hole (now eating away at the Earth's core!) but I emphasise that that was "sci-fi"!

 

[Nereid]

There's another thread on PF on this very topic! Find your answers here:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10974