(June 27) - More than 100 years ago, an enigmatic explosion devastated 80 million trees in a Russian forest. Today, researchers say the mystery known as the Tunguska event may be solved.
They say new evidence suggests a comet -- not a meteor as previously thought -- was behind the explosion. And, as the BBC reported, they're pointing to clouds that form thousands of miles away at Earth's polices to explain the theory.
Night-time or noctilucent clouds, pictured here, are the highest in the Earth's atmosphere. A photographer captured these clouds on film after the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis in 1997. Researchers believe the clouds offer a clue in solving a 100-year-old mysterious event that flattened 80 million trees in a Russian forest, reported the BBC.
Scientists claim these "noctilucent" clouds -- formations that are similar to what was seen after the Tunguska event -- reach the poles because water vapor appears to be quickly traveling in two dimensions, rather than three
clipped from: news.aol.com 