Alamogordo
First nuclear test
Alamogordo is a city in southern New Mexico, seat of Otero County.
It sits at the edge of the Tularosa Basin near White Sands National Park.
The city is best known for its proximity to Trinity Site, where the first nuclear weapon was detonated in 1945.
We drove through Alamogordo on our way to the dunes.
Clandestine atomic weapons program
- nuclearOf atomic energy
- plutoniumActinide, atomic number 94
- implosionViolent collapse inward
- ground zeroExplosion's central impact point
mushroom cloud · Oppenheimer · Los Alamos · fallout · radiation · Jumbo · Fat Man · test site
Dark patch on star
- New MexicoSouthwestern U.S. state
- SouthwestArid American expanse
- high desertElevated arid region
- elevationHeight above reference point
Hydrated calcium sulfate
- dunesWind-formed sand ridges
- seleniteTransparent gypsum variety
- crystalOrdered-atom solid
- blindingPainfully intense light
reflective · national park · dunefield · backcountry camping · sunset · photography · footprints · sledding
Science of propelled spacecraft
- astronautSpacecraft crew member
- space explorationInvestigating the cosmos beyond Earth
- aerospaceAtmosphere plus outer void
- GoddardRocketry founding figure
satellite · orbital · launch · propulsion · spaceflight · pioneers · exhibits · commemorative
German ballistic missile
- fighter jetsArmed military aircraft
- F-16American fighter jet
- F-22US stealth fighter jet
- stealthSecret, undetected movement
pilots · training · airspace · squadron · defense · tactical · missile testing · military personnel
Manhattan Project
Clandestine atomic weapons program
ground zero · mushroom cloud · Oppenheimer · Los Alamos · fallout · radiation · Jumbo · Fat Man · test site · secrecy
Sunspot
Dark patch on star
- New MexicoSouthwestern U.S. state
- SouthwestArid American expanse
- high desertElevated arid region
gypsum
Hydrated calcium sulfate
blinding · reflective · national park · dunefield · backcountry camping · sunset · photography · footprints · sledding · picnic
rocketry
Science of propelled spacecraft
- astronautSpacecraft crew member
- space explorationInvestigating the cosmos beyond Earth
- aerospaceAtmosphere plus outer void
Goddard · satellite · orbital · launch · propulsion · spaceflight · pioneers · exhibits · commemorative
V-2
German ballistic missile
- fighter jetsArmed military aircraft
- F-16American fighter jet
- F-22US stealth fighter jet
stealth · pilots · training · airspace · squadron · defense · tactical · missile testing · military personnel · flight path
AlamogordoHiroshima
First nuclear-struck city
Nagasaki · Bikini Atoll · Ground Zero · Chernobyl · Fukushima
AlamogordoGeneva
Swiss seat of diplomacy
Reykjavik · The Hague · Vienna · Camp David