Cold War to Gamma Rays

Film info

Film summary

When the Americans tried to detect radiation from Soviet bombs, they in fact discovered gamma ray bursts - radiation from deep space.

Key facts

• During the Cold War, the US suspected the Soviets of testing nuclear bombs on the dark side of the moon.
• In 1967, satellites built to detect nuclear weapons picked up a powerful radiation signal from deep in space.
• When massive stars die they form black holes, sending out great jets of high-frequency radiation called gamma rays.
• The most distant gamma ray burst discovered so far took place 13 billion light years away.