Tunguska Blast

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska Event that occured over pre-Soviet Russia. It's still unknown what caused the explosion but a comet or asteroid are the two most likely suspects, according to scientists. The event occured about 5 miles above the Earth's surface and it's energy was around 10-15 megatons, or around 1000 times the nuclear explosion that leveled Hiroshima, Japan. It knocked over an estimated 80 million trees covering an area of about 830 square miles. Events like this one just illustrate how woefully unprepared we are if a small near-Earth object is found to be on a collision course with our planet; we can only hope that Morgan Freeman will be around to lead us to safety if the unthinkable happens.