What Does a Nuclear Explosion in Space Look Like?

Physics





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Curraheeshutter/shutterstock

Pretty damn spectular it turns out.

On July 9th 1962, the U.S detonated a nuclear weapon, dubbed Starfish Prime, over 386,000 meters (240 miles) in the sky – with an explosive yield of 1.45 megatons, roughly 100 times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.