June 30: International Asteroid Day

Every year June 30 is observed as the International Asteroid Day. It is celebrated by the United Nations as well.

Highlights

The International Asteroid Day is held on the anniversary of the Siberian Tunguska event that occurred on June 30, 1908.

Tunguska Event

The event is the largest known explosion recorded in the human history though larger impacts have occurred in prehistoric times.

On June 30, 1908, Russian settlers in the Lake Baikal observed a column of blue light as bright as the sun moving across the sky. Ten minutes later they heard sounds similar to that of artillery fire. The event killed three locals and flattened around 80 million trees.

International Asteroid Day is observed to mark this day.

United Nations

The resolution to celebrate International Asteroid Day was submitted at the United Nations in 2016. The day is marked to rase awareness about the devastating impacts an asteroid can cause when it crashes on the earth.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2020