Ancient Skies - Vol 23 No 1 - 1996

Magazine Overview

Title: ANCIENT SKIES
Issue: Volume 23, Number 1
Date: March-April, 1996
Publisher: ANCIENT ASTRONAUT SOCIETY
Country: USA
Theme: The enigma of the Tunguska "explosion" and its potential extraterrestrial origins.

The Enigma of the Tunguska "Explosion": A Few Steps to Solution

This article, authored by Dr. Vladimir V. Rubtsov, delves into the mysteries surrounding the 1908 Tunguska event in Central Siberia. On June 30, 1908, a luminous space body of unknown origin flew over the region, culminating in a massive explosion in the atmosphere at an altitude of 5 to 7 kilometers. The event, with a TNT equivalent of 10 to 40 megatons, caused widespread destruction, flattening over 2,000 square kilometers of forest and burning vegetation. Eyewitness accounts described the object as roundish, spherical, or cylindrical, with colors ranging from red, yellow, or white, and vivid iridescent bands. A notable eyewitness, B. Semenov, described a powerful blast and a subsequent "loud knocking as if stones were falling from the sky."

The explosion generated a significant shock wave recorded seismically as far as 1200 km away, and within 200 km, windows were broken. A local magnetic storm, similar to those following nuclear explosions, lasted for four hours. Atmospheric anomalies, including mesospheric clouds, bright twilights, and long solar halos, were observed across Eurasia. Despite the scale of the event, initial scientific reaction was muted, with some local newspapers speculating about a meteorite impact.

A.V. Voznesensky, Director of the Irkutsk Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, was among the first to connect the earthquake recordings with the fiery body, establishing approximate coordinates and time of the event. However, the Tunguska "meteorite" was largely forgotten for over a decade due to a lack of further investigation and publication.

Dr. Rubtsov highlights several key facts that challenge the conventional meteorite hypothesis:

1. No Astrobleme or Meteoritic Substance: Despite extensive searches, no meteorite crater or substance identifiable as extraterrestrial matter has been found at the epicenter. The soil, however, shows geochemical anomalies, being enriched with rare earths, barium, cobalt, and titanium, along with shifts in isotopic compositions of carbon, hydrogen, and lead.
2. Forest Destruction Pattern: The leveled forest exhibits peculiar "butterfly-like" contours and a complex structure. While generally radial, there are local deviations near the epicenter, suggesting multiple subepicenters. This pattern, along with the "ballistic wave" imprint, indicates the body was moving east to west at a relatively low speed (estimated at 1.2 km/s) just before the explosion.
3. Radiant Burn Zone: The burn zone also has a "butterfly-like" shape, aligned with the "ballistic" axis. The burning appears patchy, suggesting the source of the flash was not a uniform fireball but possibly powerful "thermal rays."
4. Ecological Consequences: The region experienced a rapid restoration of the forest, accelerated tree growth, and a significant increase in mutations in local pines, concentrated along the body's path. A rare mutation was also noted among the local native population.
5. Increased Thermoluminescence: Thermoluminescence of minerals in the region has substantially increased, possibly due to hard radiation emitted during flight or at the moment of explosion.

These facts have led scientists to question the meteorite hypothesis. Early theories proposed the body was the core of a small comet or a cloud of cosmic dust. However, it was Alexander Kazantsev, a Soviet engineer and science fiction writer, who in 1945 proposed the extraterrestrial spaceship hypothesis, inspired by the nuclear explosion over Hiroshima.

Specialists in meteoritics initially objected, suggesting the anomalies could be explained by a small, water-inundated crater. However, the first post-war Tunguska Expedition in 1958 concluded that the body exploded in the air, further weakening the meteorite theory. The problem was eventually transferred to the Commission on Meteorites and Cosmic Dust of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, effectively exiling it.

The Interdisciplinary Independent Tunguska Expedition (IITE), founded in 1958, has been central to Tunguska studies. Its research has revealed that the explosion occurred in the atmosphere, driven by the body's internal energy rather than its motion. The concentration of energy approached that of nuclear explosions, with at least 10% released as a flash. This suggests a nuclear reaction, though its nature remains unknown, with no firm evidence found in soil or vegetation. The local magnetic storm, increased thermoluminescence, and genetic mutations in pines lend support to this idea, possibly indicating a novel type of nuclear reaction.

Furthermore, evidence suggests multiple low-altitude explosions in addition to the main one. The Tunguska space body is theorized to have consisted of an "explosive substance" and a "shell," resembling an artificial construction. The path of the body remains unclear, with conflicting eyewitness testimonies suggesting arrival from the east or southeast, though the eastern variant has been traced as far as the Lena River. This has led to speculation about multiple bodies moving from different directions.

Dr. Rubtsov discusses the fate of the Tunguska body after the explosion, noting that while a "ricochet" is unlikely, some part might have continued its flight. He emphasizes that the complexity of the phenomenon exceeds simple models and favors the artificial nature of the Tunguska space body and its unconventional explosion. The "technogeneous hypothesis" is gaining traction, suggesting it might not have been an accidental crash but possibly intentional.

Dr. Rubtsov, along with A.V. Zolotov, developed a "battle model" of the Tunguska phenomenon, proposing an aerospace battle between alien spaceships, with one surviving and returning to space. He acknowledges that an accidental fall of an ancient starship is also a possibility.

Anomalous Objects and Extraterrestrial Artifacts

Dr. Rubtsov also touches upon the probability of extraterrestrial artifacts falling to Earth, citing calculations by Alexey Arkhipov. He mentions the recent discovery of unusual metallic debris near Kharkov, Ukraine, from a 1994 event. A white bolide was observed, followed by a meteorite fall and the discovery of a crater containing fragments of a threaded tube with a diameter of 2-3 cm and a thickness of 50 cm. The composition (99% iron, 0.3% copper, 0.04% nickel, 0.02% titanium) and shape of the debris suggest an artificial device rather than a natural meteorite or spacecraft, drawing parallels to fragments from the movie "Star Wars."

He references a paper titled "Tunguska Meteorites Fall Down Every Year," suggesting that loose meteorite bodies, or possibly debris from extraterrestrial spaceships, may regularly enter Earth's atmosphere, often overlooked or misidentified. The article concludes by suggesting that solving the Tunguska mystery might lead to a re-evaluation of humanity's place in the universe and a realization that "our solitude in the universe is just an illusion."

Reader Comments and Related Information

The issue also includes reader comments on related topics:

• Raves in the Caves: A report on a Cambridge University study suggesting that swirling, spiral designs at Neolithic sites in Britain and Ireland were created by psychedelic hallucinations, drawing parallels to 1960s op-art and drug-induced patterns.
• Comments on Michael A. Cremo's Article: Several readers respond to an article by Michael Cremo on forbidden archaeology. Chief White Wolf-Sioux concurs with Cremo on the ancient age of Earth and mentions Sioux history dating back 4 million years. Rustum D. Patel finds Cremo's article lucid and suggests that if humans co-existed with ape-like creatures, then dates for events like the Garden of Eden and the building of the pyramids might be much earlier. George Scott calls Cremo's work a "revelation."

Information is provided on ordering Michael Cremo's book "Forbidden Archaeology" and "The Hidden History of the Human Race," as well as Erich von Daniken's book "The Eyes of the Sphinx." Announcements are made for the 24th Anniversary World Conference of the Ancient Astronaut Society and a member expedition to Peru. The issue concludes with a notice of the death of Maurice Chatelain, author of "Our Cosmic Ancestors."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around anomalous aerial phenomena, particularly the Tunguska event, and the exploration of extraterrestrial intelligence and its potential impact on human history and understanding. The editorial stance, as reflected in the articles and the society's focus, is one of open inquiry into unconventional hypotheses, particularly those suggesting extraterrestrial or artificial origins for unexplained events and ancient mysteries. There is a clear skepticism towards purely conventional scientific explanations when they fail to account for empirical evidence, favoring more speculative, yet evidence-based, theories like the technogeneous hypothesis for the Tunguska event.