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Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics

2014 year, number 11

Connection between the rainbow track of the Tunguska cosmic body and its trajectory

O.G. Gladysheva, D.V. Skorodumov
Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, 26 Polytekhnicheskaya, St Petersburg 194021, Russia
Keywords: Tunguska cosmic body, trajectory, rainbow trace

Abstract

The Tunguska event, which took place on June 30, 1908, was a unique incident of interaction of a cosmic body with the Earth. In spite of this phenomenon was investigated more than 100 years, discussions about a nature of the Tunguska cosmic body are continued. In this work, we show that the Tunguska cosmic body could be only a comet, since the object discharged water during its flight. The track was formed on the sky after the object and a dozen of eyewitnesses noted a “rainbow” in this track. Calculations of trajectory of the Tunguska cosmic body (the azimuth A = 300° and the inclination a = 20°) allowed one to determine that this “rainbow” was a fragment of the sun halo with a radius of 22°. This halo was unique because it was formed at the altitude of the mesopause.