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Scientists successfully ‘nuke asteroid’ — in a lab mock-up

Experiment shows that, in a worst-case scenario, humanity could use a nuclear explosion to save the planet from a deadly impact.
  1. Jonathan O'Callaghan
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A blast of X-rays from a nuclear explosion should be enough to save Earth from an incoming asteroid, according to the results of a first-of-its-kind experiment.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03128-4

References

  1. Moore, N. W. et al. Nature Phys. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02633-7 (2024).

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