50th Anniversary of the Starfish Prime Nuclear Weapon Test Today

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50th Anniversary of the Starfish Prime Nuclear Weapon Test Today

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 9, 2012 @05:17AM from the big-boom dept.

The Bad Astronomer writes "50 years ago today, the U.S. detonated a nuclear weapon 240 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Called Starfish Prime, it was supposed to help U.S. scientists and the military understand how the Soviets might try to stop incoming nuclear missiles. What it actually did was blow out hundreds of streetlights in Hawaii 900 miles away, damage a half dozen satellites, and create artificial aurorae and intense radiation zones above the Earth. It taught the world what an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) was, and what the effects might be from a powerful solar flare, a nearby supernova, or a gamma-ray burst."

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Re:Sounds like fun! by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-07-09 05:23 · Score: 5, Funny

I know!

What it actually did was blow out hundreds of streetlights in Hawaii 900 miles away, damage a half dozen satellites, and create artificial aurorae and intense radiation zones above the Earth.
Sounds like a successful test to me. :-) Assuming they were testing for AWESOMENESS!
"Are you sure this is safe?" by saveferrousoxide · 2012-07-09 05:31 · Score: 5, Funny

"Sir...We're hundreds miles from anything...what could possibly go wrong?"
Re:Sounds like fun! by man_of_mr_e · 2012-07-09 05:32 · Score: 4, Funny

I shudder to think of how much atmosphere, ozone, and other vital systems in our atmosphere might have been burned up by these tests.
After all, Nuclear testing is what killed off the Martians,and made mars such an inhospitable wasteland...

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There was only ONE! by Thud457 · 2012-07-09 05:39 · Score: 4, Funny

blow out hundreds of streetlights
Sounds like an immortal got his head chopped off that day.

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Re:Sounds like fun! by metalgamer84 · 2012-07-09 06:50 · Score: 5, Funny

Dinosaurs aren't real, they were just made up to discourage time travelers.
Re:Actually? by timeOday · 2012-07-09 06:51 · Score: 3, Funny

Ha, I'd like to hear commentary on the nobility of scientific experiments if/when China does this. I'm sure we would have no problem with them bursting nukes over our heads and knocking out our satellites (oops!)
Re:Sounds like fun! by EdIII · 2012-07-09 07:37 · Score: 3, Funny

Dinosaurs aren't real, they were just made up to discourage time travelers.
You ever heard of the redneck Olympics?
Not everyone gets discouraged so easily....
Re:and gave birth to... by idontgno · 2012-07-09 10:29 · Score: 3, Funny

Hence, it's frigid instead of burning-hot like Venus.

In fact, it's cold as Hell.
-- Sir Elton John, probably not FRS

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