uniladtech homepage
  • News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Unbelievable video shows nuclear bomb exploding in space

Home> Science> Space

Published 13:45 4 Dec 2023 GMT

Unbelievable video shows nuclear bomb exploding in space

You won't be able to believe your eyes.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: Credit: YouTube/The Nevada National Security Site
Space

Advert

Advert

Advert

If you cast your mind back to the Oppenheimer craze of the summer, you may have seen what it looks like when a bomb goes off on Earth.

But what does it look like when nuclear weapons are sent to space?

We have a video from the 1960s showing just that, and it's hard to believe that it’s not from a movie.

Advert

In 1962, in response to the Soviets announcing a three-year ban on nuclear testing, the US military launched Operation Fishbowl and sent rockets into space to set off bombs.

The operation took place to evaluate the effects of high yield explosions and its destructiveness, and there were three tests involved - Bluegill, Urraca and Starfish - all launched from Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean.

And we're able to see what these explosions actually looked like, thanks to video footage shared by The Nevada National Security Site.

The video opens with shots of the test site, and then shows a rocket going into space surrounded by a sea of smoke and fire.

The bomb explodes, resembling a mushroom cloud, and then we see a huge flash of light.

Operation Fishbowl sent nuclear bombs into space.
YouTube/The Nevada National Security Site

According to NASA, the absence of an atmosphere in spaces means that the blast would have disappeared completely, as there’s no air for the bomb to heat up.

But they also say that nuclear radiation won't suffer any reduction of force in space, meaning the range of significant dosages would be much greater than it would be on Earth.

The blast from the Starfish test, which used a 1.4 megaton bomb, was 500 times as powerful as the bomb that fell on Hiroshima.

It blew up at an altitude of 250 miles, and was even visible on Earth.

Greg Spriggs, who watched the test take place with his family, told National Geographic: “[My dad] was trying to figure out which direction to look. He thought there was going to be this little flicker, so he wanted to make sure everybody was going to see it.

Starfish exploded at the height of the ISS.
YouTube/The Nevada National Security Site

"When that nuclear weapon went off, the whole sky lit up in every direction. It looked like noon."

The effects of the bomb lasted for as long as 15 minutes after it went off, and an artificial aura was visible all the way in New Zealand.

Just one year later, the US, the UK and the then-U.S.S.R. signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

In 1968, it was even reported that some Starfish electrons had remained in the atmosphere for five years.

Choose your content:

21 hours ago
a day ago
  • Bloomberg / Contributor via Getty
    21 hours ago

    Bryan Johnson makes 'unhinged' post revealing his partner's vaginal data with intimate tweet about sex life

    The biohacker has previously shared a detailed 11-step sex routine

    Science
  • Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty
    a day ago

    Simulation reveals what happens to your body after drinking 'liquid death' consumed by half of Americans daily

    One heart surgeon put these kinds of drinks on their list of things we should absolutely be avoiding

    Science
  • Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
    a day ago

    Viewers notice suspicious moment shared between Artemis astronauts as Trump makes 'unsettling' admission

    The astronauts flew around the Moon earlier this month

    Science
  • J Studios/Getty Images
    a day ago

    Doctor issues warning over dangerous AI chatbot ‘hallucinations’ which can result in ‘misleading’ medical advice

    One third of adults have admitted to turning to AI for health information and advice

    Science
  • Resurfaced video shows dead UFO-linked scientist detailing being 'roofied' for government secrets
  • Pornhub attempted to raise $3.4M to film extreme adult scene in space
  • NASA astronaut gives surprising answer to whether sex in space is really possible
  • Terrifyingly 'realistic' simulation shows what would really happen to your body if you died in space