114 years ago, this huge asteroid crashed on Earth, says NASA! Check out the shocking Tunguska event

Yesterday, June 30, was marked as the World Asteroid Day. The day is celebrated every year to spread awareness and knowledge about the dangers of asteroids and to communicate the crisis-aversion actions which should be taken in case of an asteroid impact threat. The day was first commemorated in 2016 when the United Nations passed a resolution. The choice of date was intentional as it marked the anniversary of the Tunguska event, which is the largest asteroid strike to ever be witnessed by humans. That one isolated event in 1908 ended up becoming so historically significant that it has today influenced technological advancement and scientific discourse in the field of asteroid research led by NASA. So, what happened during the Tunguska event and why is it so important? Read on.

A massive asteroid explodes near the Tunguska river

114 years ago, just above the Tunguska river in Russia in a region which is known as Krasnoyarsk Krai, a handful of people claimed to witness a blue fireball dropping from the sky. Moments later, 500,000 acres (2,150 square km) of uninhabited forest was flattened, and the ground scorched. The shockwaves were felt all across the world. Although not known at that time, it was an asteroid explosion that caused it.

The Tunguska event took place in 1908, but being in a remote corner of the world, it wasn’t till 1927 when the first investigation took place. According to a report by EarthSky, Leonid Kulik led the first Soviet research expedition to investigate the Tunguska event. However, he did not find any impact crater or asteroid fragments, which led to him dismissing the idea of an asteroid strike.

It wasn’t till later when it was understood what really happened that day. The asteroid, a 50–60 meters wide stony space rock, never made it to the surface and instead exploded right above the forest causing the destruction. Three people were killed and more than 80 million trees were flattened in the Tunguska event.

Tunguska is the largest cosmic impact witnessed by modern humans," David Morrison, a planetary science researcher at Ames told NASA. "It also is characteristic of the sort of impact we are likely to have to protect against in the future."

Today, NASA watches over 16,000 near-Earth objects (NEO) and plans countermeasures through its Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). It has been an integral part of the American agency observing and mapping out all the asteroids that can pose a threat to us.