3. Dropping the atomic bomb in World War II (1945)

The use of the atomic bomb against Japan brought nuclear processes to the public mind and started a nuclear weapons race. A series of Vela satellites put in orbit by the United States to detect nuclear-bomb tests instead picked up gamma-ray bursts, notably a strong one in 1959. Fortunately, they were identified as celestial bodies before any retaliation was launched.

 

Jay M. Pasachoff is the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College. His Top 10 list largely relates major world events to a number of important developments in astronomy. He points to the establishment of the Nobel Prizes as an event that helped spark public interest in science.

1.

The development of radio astronomy (late 1900's)
2. The collapse of the Soviet Union (1991)
3. Dropping the atomic bomb in World War II (1945)
4.

The launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union (1957)
5. Introduction of the Nobel Prizes (1901)
6. Albert Einstein's theories of relativity (early 1900's)
7. Hitler's persecution of the Jews (1930's and 1940"s)
8. Discovery of the transistor and the rise of electronics (middle to late 1900's)
9. The development of computers (middle to late 1900's))
10. The invention of the airplane (1903)