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Chitose
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As topic says
Can we see Nuclear Explosion form orbit altitued? or even form space?
Just curious.
Can we see Nuclear Explosion form orbit altitued? or even form space?
Just curious.
ideasrule said:You can see manmade buildings from space. A nuclear explosion is certainly bigger and brighter than any manmade building. We can also see nuclear explosions in space quite easily; see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime
Some links I've seen put the human eye's resolution at 0.6 arcmin: http://clarkvision.com/imagedetail/eye-resolution.htmlzomgwtf said:Errr, which buildings exactly?
russ_watters said:Assuming by "space" the OP just means low Earth orbit, a nuclear explosion is orders of magnitude larger than what is necessary to see with the unaided eye. From LEO, you can see a large campfire! Or consider it from the other direction: you can see most satellites with the naked eye from the ground. They are much, much dimmer than a nuclear explosion as they are merely reflecting light from the sun. Then, certain satellites with flat, reflective surfaces will "flare", reflecting direct sunlight to a small area on earth. These are spectaclarly bright to the naked eye - much brighter than any star or planet. http://www.satobs.org/iridium.html
russ_watters said:You can probably see an airburst nuke on Earth from the Moon.
Max Faust said:Funnily enough, I was just thinking the very same thing yesterday, as I was reading about the largest bomb ever made by humans, a 57 megaton hydrogen bomb that the Russians detonated over Novaja Zelmlja in 1961. (LINK)
zomgwtf said:The average nuclear weapon is far from this size, lol. I think in America they are on average 100-300kT. In Russia they go up to 500kT.
pallidin said:"Average"? Maybe, but megaton yield is not unusual.
Here's an interesting link: http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html
Chitose said:As topic says
Can we see Nuclear Explosion form orbit altitued? or even form space?
Just curious.
Max Faust said:Funnily enough, I was just thinking the very same thing yesterday, as I was reading about the largest bomb ever made by humans, a 57 megaton hydrogen bomb that the Russians detonated over Novaja Zelmlja in 1961.
zomgwtf said:Something we have to think about with this is that a lot of released visual wavelength energy gets absorbed before leaving the atmosphere. A HANE would definitely be visible but a ground explosion, I'm not sure... it'd probably just be a really quick flash which would be obscured quickly
Yes, a nuclear explosion can be seen from orbit. However, the visibility depends on various factors such as the size of the explosion, the altitude of the orbit, and the atmospheric conditions.
The distance at which a nuclear explosion can be seen from orbit depends on the size of the explosion. For a larger explosion, it can be seen from a farther distance compared to a smaller explosion. Generally, it can be seen from hundreds of kilometers away.
The altitude needed to see a nuclear explosion from orbit can vary depending on the size of the explosion and the atmospheric conditions. In general, it is recommended to be at an altitude of at least 500 kilometers to clearly see a nuclear explosion.
Yes, a nuclear explosion can be seen from the ISS if it is at a low enough altitude and the explosion is large enough. However, the ISS is usually at an altitude of around 400 kilometers which may not be ideal for viewing a nuclear explosion.
The duration of a nuclear explosion's visibility from orbit can vary depending on the size of the explosion, the altitude of the orbit, and the atmospheric conditions. Generally, it can be seen for a few seconds to a few minutes before dissipating into the atmosphere.