Vitim Event

September 25, 2002 - It was on this night that something (probably a bolide or comet nucleus) blew up above the Vitim River Basin in Siberia. A Russian physicist estimated the scale of the explosion at 4 to 5 kilotons.

There were witnesses who saw an incredibly bright light streaking across the night sky. Others reported that electric lights and appliances that were turned off suddenly crackled to life in the aftermath. The mysterious object was also picked up by a U.S. anti-missile defense satellite.

Similar to the much larger Tunguska Event of 1908, there was widespread damage to trees. Many had their tops snapped off, but no burnt trees or impact craters were ever found. Abnormal amounts of tritium and radioactive isotopes of cobalt and caesium were found in water and snow samples taken in the region.