SEARCH FOR MICROREMNANTS OF THE TUNGUSKA COSMIC BODY

A new method is used here to obtain experimental data on the nature and composition of the Tunguska Cosmic Body. The leading hypothesis of the method is that in the forest conifers which have survived the Tunguska catastrophe, the fluid resin present at the moment of the event could have acted as a trap for airborne particles, as happens in amber. The growth rings of trees can give information on the age of the resin and therefore on the time when the particulate was trapped in it. With a scanning electron microscope, a total of 7163 particles were found in resin samples from Tunguska branches and from two control trees. The time distributions of the particles in the years 1885-1930 show clear abundance peaks centred on 1908. This makes it possible to conclude that the presence of Fe, Ca, Al, Si, Au, Cu, S, Zn, Cr, Ba, Ti, Ni. C and 0 in the particles observed is related to the Tunguska event and that these elements are probable constituents of the Tunguska Cosmic Body. This result is compatible with recent calculations showing that the Tunguska body can be a normal density meteorite.