The Vitim Fireball
Late at night in remote Siberia, a brilliant light lit up the sky, and villagers heard a roar and felt the ground shake.
What was reported
Around midnight on 24 to 25 September 2002, people in the remote Bodaybo district of Siberia, near the Vitim River, saw an intense flash light up the sky, followed by a roar and a shaking of the ground.
US military satellites recorded the flash. Because the area was so remote, it took time for expeditions to reach it, and stories spread comparing it to the Tunguska event of 1908.
Explanations offered
Scientists concluded that a small asteroid or meteoroid exploded in the atmosphere, releasing energy equal to a small nuclear explosion. Expeditions found areas of damaged forest but no large fragments. Some unusual theories still circulate, but most scientists accept the airburst explanation.
- When
- 24–25 September 2002
- Where
- Bodaybo district, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
- Witnesses
- Residents of remote Siberian villages; US satellites
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.