Photo Credit: Courtesy of asteroidday.org
By Chinthaka Nanayakkara
For Russian dwellers to the northwest of Lake Baikal, that unforgettable morning in 1908 must have dawned just like any other ordinary morning, calm and tranquil.
But after 7 A.M., it was anything but ordinary, calm or tranquil. Only few natives spotted the blinding blue streak of light that zipped across their skies, but the deafening explosion that echoed from the faraway depths of the forest was clearly heard by almost everyone in the vicinity.
Then came the shock wave.
Followed by strong tremors and brief, howling gale, tree tops were snapped off, buildings shook, windows smashed and strollers lost their footing. Some of them were thrown back for few meters before losing their consciousness.
The shock would have registered a 5.0 magnitude in Richter scale, and it was recorded at seismic stations across Eurasia. It was 30th of June.
Today, after more than one hundred years, this is what we still recall as the “Tunguska event,” which delivered a well-timed wakeup call to humankind. Today, thoughts of another such event bring together researchers, scholars, scientists, astronauts, artists and everyone who shared a common concern about the unknown threats posed by the heavens above.
Ironically, Tunguska Event was a “lucky” one. Identified much later as caused by the air burst — rather than a direct impact on Earth — of a stray asteroid over Siberia, the event resulted in more than 770 square miles (2,000 square kilometers) of taiga forest destroyed and 80 million trees fallen. Only two possible human causalities have been reported, but none have been officially recorded.
We were lucky.
If the trajectory of that asteroid had shifted even a hair’s breadth, recent human history might have been very different.
Hence, realizing the seriousness of a future encounter with killer asteroids and the disastrous consequences that they could bring, Asteroid Day was sanctioned by the United Nations and is observed each year at the anniversary of Tunguska event.
The 100X Asteroid Declaration has been co-signed by hundreds of leading astronauts, scientists, technologists and artists.
Every June 30th, Asteroid Day hopes to raise awareness among the international community about asteroids and promotes discussion on possible solutions that can be adopted to protect Earth and all life on Earth from a similar — but more tragic — event like Tunguska.
According to the asteroidday.org website, 2,500 events have so far been scheduled worldwide in nearly 200 countries with one million event attendees and 11 million online participants standing up for Asteroid Day this year.
Sweek.com
One of the registered events for Asteroid Day is the Sweek Annual Writing Project on Asteroid Day, organized by Sweek.com — a global free publishing platform based in Netherlands that enables anyone in the world to read, write, and share their stories at no cost.
In addition to their multiple free writing competitions on various topics, Sweek rounds up a group of talented writers in their platform and invites them to participate in a writing project every month, organized together with their brand ambassadors. Depending on the success of the writing project, it is then developed into an ebook at a later stage.
Here are the best picks in the 4th Writing Project organized by me on behalf of Sweek.com:
Poisoning of Cerbus by Cynthia Williams — When Asteroid Cerbus detaches mysteriously from the asteroid belt and heads toward Earth, a NASA scientist must find a way to stop it with limited resources at hand.
Scabrous by Priya Laran — A child and an alien creature must combine forces to save Earth from an imminent asteroid strike.
Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Sweek.com
Face Off With Doomsday by Priyanka Thadeshwar — As the Asteroid Penuel closes in upon Earth, we have very little time to make decisions that will determine the fate of the human race.
True Sacrifice Unveils Truth by Liana Krate — The holy “Sadhvi” is awakened from her deep meditation suddenly one day to be warned about a steadily approaching disaster.
Space Ripples by Sunil — A young god’s temptation to send a “pebble” spinning toward Earth is not seen as a playful act by humanity.
Diverted Collision by Olinda Braganza — An alien being saves Earth from an asteroid, but at what cost?
Blood of Zamira by Johann Duarte (Author of Benti-Zai) — On an Earth-like planet with two moons, a new danger approaches from the sky.
Snow Flakes by Scion Marion — Asteroid Apophis threatens mankind, but an alien being seeks to save it — and her beloved.
Three Realms by Chinthaka Nanayakkara – In this universe, are we humans the only beings in existence? How might we exist in millions of years?
These are just a few of the best picks. There are lot more available for you. Enjoy for free the exciting new books on Asteroid Day by logging on to Sweek.com (or downloading the app) and typing “asteroid 2018” into the top right search bar.
Are you interested in more? You too can join the Sweek’s Asteroid Day writing project by publishing your own book online! Sweek.com is a mobile publishing platform that is available for everyone in the world to read, write and share stories at no cost.
Registered as an event for this year’s Asteroid Day, this writing project at Sweek.com will be effective for a full year, until June 30, 2019. Why wait? Submit your story now!