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It's 7 a.m. on June 30, 1908, in a village near the Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia.

A merchant sits on the front porch of his trading post, enjoying his breakfast.

But as he eats, something extraordinary captures his attention.

A bright, cylindrical object transversing the northern sky. It's like nothing he's seen before.

His eyes widen with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation as the seconds ticked by and the object maintains its unhurried trajectory. Until suddenly, the merchant drops his

spoon and shields his eyes. The shape streaking through the sky disappears in a white flash as the

sky is engulfed in a blinding, incandescent burst. Between his fingers, the merchant watches

the light fade to a bright orange and then an angry red.

As the sky changes color, the ground convulses beneath him, flinging the merchant from his seat.

A guttural rumble moves through the earth, and the merchant feels a blast of hot wind.

He curls into a protective ball, trying to protect himself from the scorching heat.

Time seems to stand still as he endures this hellish ordeal. But after just a few moments,

the chaos is over. The hot tempest abates, the shaking stops, and an ominous silence descends

on the village.

The merchant and his fellow villagers will have no idea what just swept through their community,

and for years neither will scientists or researchers. Exactly what caused the Tunguska event,

as this strange incident is named, will remain unknown for decades.

But its mystery will eventually be revealed, thanks to the work of one determined scientist whose expeditions into the Siberian wilderness will form the basis of modern theories

...