The Morning the Sky Split in Two

Name: The Morning the Sky Split in Two
Genre: Documentary

A quiet Siberian morning becomes an inferno when the northern sky tears open above a trading station.

Episode one is free. The rest of the series needs All Access.

Transcript

An axe hung above a cask when the northern sky split apart.
It happened June 30th, 1908, around 7:15 a.m. in Siberia.
Semyon Semyonov had just raised an axe to hoop a cask.
He'd raised it to hoop a cask when a fiery flare appeared.
Semyonov saw a fiery flare appear in the northwest.
Facing north, Semyonov saw fire appear above the forest.
The northern sky looked split in two, with fire filling one side.
Semyonov felt intense heat and could not remain seated.
In that instant, the sky became something his body could feel.
A Vanavara witness felt great heat, as if his shirt had caught fire.
Elsewhere, witnesses saw a fireball trail smoke across the morning sky.
Witnesses described a flash brighter than the Sun, then a thunder-like noise.
The blast damaged window panes at the trading station.
A hot wind left small ground paths, damaging growing onions.
Then the Vanavara witness's body became another measure of the blast's force.
The Vanavara witness was thrown 20 feet from the porch.
The Vanavara witness then briefly lost consciousness.
The blast's hot wind swept through the trading station.
Even the iron hasp on a barn door had snapped.
At about 37 miles, or 60 kilometers, people were thrown down and windows were broken.

But the shock wave was racing toward sleeping reindeer herders camped closer to the blast.

All Access is $4.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The annual plan starts with three days free.

Renews until you cancel. Terms · Privacy