I just received this from a long time colleague:
We have just translated a Russian report today on an intense explosion which took place in a sparsely populated area of Russia just over a month ago. I have not seen any other report on this incident, so I pass it on in case others have more definite infomation.
Milson
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8 Nov 2002 (2nd report)
Russian astronomers are puzzled by an unusual ‘cosmic object’ which crashed on the night of 24/25 September 2002 in the dense forests ("Taiga") of Russia, near the River Vitim.
Witnesses who were out hunting in the area said this very large cosmic body (possibly an asteroid) came towards Earth at an incredible speed, creating a lot of noise, with ‘flashing lights’, exploded in the Taiga and lit up the whole neighborhood, shattering windows in houses up to nearly 50km away. Immediately after the explosion there was a strong earthquake which was felt as far away as 50km from the point of impact, although the exact location has not yet been found on account of the haze which followed the incident. The tremendous light generated turned the night sky to daylight with an intensity which hurt the eyes of those who witnessed it. [sounds nuclear - magnesium??]
There were no apparent injuries as this is a very desolate area.
It drew the attention of American photo-reconnaissance satellites, who fixed an approximate point of impact and calculated the explosion to have been the equivalent of 200 kg TNT, but this is ridiculed by local inhabitants who are experts in the field, who say that it had to have been at least 200 megatons. It may well have been a nuclear explosion.
Scientists were unable to investigate the remote site initially as they did not have funds to hire aircraft to overfly the site. Hunters who were interviewed said that all wildlife has deserted the area, but promised to help scientists in their expedition to discover the space object, initially when the rivers are frozen over, as this would facilitate travel. A full-scale expedition would then follow next summer.
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