(Phys.org) -- Early on the morning of June 30th, 1908, a huge
explosion occurred in a remote part of Siberia near the
Podkamennaya Tunguska River. So great was the blast that trees
were knocked down in neat rows for nearly a thousand square
miles and the sky lit up from parts of Asia to Great Britain.
What caused that explosion has never been firmly settled. Most
researchers agree that it was the result of either a comet or
meteoroid, with most leaning towards the former due to the lack
of both an impact crater and meteoroid fragments. Now however, a
research team from Italy says that they have found proof that it
was in fact a meteorite that struck the Earth and that a nearby
lake is the impact crater. They have published the results of
their findings in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. For
years, amateurs and professionals alike have debated the cause
of the Tunguska Event, as its come to be known as. Some suggest
it was the work of extraterrestrials while others say it was
gods way of getting our atte