Vitim event

Vitim event

The Vitim event or Bodaybo event is believed to be an impact by a bolide or comet nucleus in the Vitim River basin. It occurred near the town of Bodaybo in the Mamsko-Chuisky district of Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, Russia on September 25, 2002 at approximately 10:00 p.m. (local time). The event was also detected by a U.S. military missile-defense satellite.

Some attempts were made to define the magnitude of the explosion. US military analysts calculated it was between 0.2–0.5 kilotons, while Russian physicist Andrey Olkhovatov estimates it at 4–5 kilotons.

Information about the event appeared in the mass media and among scientists after only a week. Initially no one was able to understand the magnitude of the explosion. A small expedition, sent by the Institute of Sun–Earth Physics (Irkutsk), tried to find a meteorite within about 10 km from Bodaybo town (people told them—"it has fallen after the nearest mountain!").

Some people suggest that this phenomenon is similar to the Tunguska event of 1908.

Expeditions

* 1st - Russian MChS (Emergency Rescue) team tried to find an object near Bodaybo
* 2nd - October, 2002 expedition of Irkutsk University (leader S. Yazev).

Official expeditions in 2002–2003 never reached the impact site, situated in a remote Siberian taiga.

Kosmopoisk expedition

As reported by Kosmopoisk, in May 2003 an expedition, performed by Kosmopoisk (leader — V. Chernobrov) reached the presumed impact point (about 50 km from Vitimsky settle point). The situation there looked similar to that of the Tunguska river after the Tunguska event in 1908. Snow and water samples were analyzed and found to contain an abnormal amount of tritium, as well as radioactive isotopes of cobalt and caesium.

Summing up all the information V.A. Chernobrov suggested, that the Vitim event could be caused by a falling of a comet nucleus with a diameter about 50–100 meters.

See also

* Tunguska event
* Eastern Mediterranean event
* Cando event

External links

* Meteorites Australia (Meteorites.com.au) The Vitim bolide [http://www.meteorites.com.au/odds&ends/russia.html] (latest update 26 March 2006)
* Cambridge Conference Network bulletins concerning the Vitim event [http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc060703.html]
* BBC online article [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2309117.stm]
* Times online article [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-705280,00.html]
* Cambridge Conference Network archive concerning the event [http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc071003.html]
* Kasatkina, E.A. & Shumilov, O.I. (2005). "Some atmospheric and magnetospheric effects possibly related to the Vitim bolide impact". Retrieved June 24, 2005. [http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU05/00257/EGU05-J-00257.pdf]
* Chernobrov, Vadim & Soleny, Alexander & Lawrence, Maria (2003). "Results from the VITIM-2003 expedition" [http://kosmopoisk.org/expeditions/show1.html?id=165Report]


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  • Vitim River — ( ru. Витим; bx. Витим Vitim ) is a major tributary of the Lena River. With its source east of Lake Baikal, the Vitim flows 1,978 km north through the Transbaykalian Mountains and the town of Bodaybo. Upstream of Bodaybo, the Vitim is navigable… …   Wikipedia

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  • Bodaybo — ( ru. Бодайбо) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vitim River at its confluence with the Bodaybo River. Population: 16,000 (2005 est.); 16,504 (2002 Census); 12,800 (1968).Bodaybo was founded in 1864 and served the needs of the… …   Wikipedia

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  • Événement de la Méditerranée orientale — L événement de Méditerranée orientale est une explosion aérienne de forte énergie survenue le 6 juin 2002 au dessus de la mer Méditerranée aux alentours de 34°N 21°E, entre la Libye et la Crète, (Grèce)[1]. Cette explosion, de puissance …   Wikipédia en Français

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