Nagasaki Marks 75th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing

Above, the monument that marks ground zero of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan and the city is memorializing the event that led to the end of World War II.

Japan Today reported:

TOKYO - The city of Nagasaki in southern Japan marks the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Sunday. 

It was the second nuclear bomb dropped by the U.S. three days after the attack on Hiroshima. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and nearly a half-century aggression against its Asian neighbors. 

Dwindling survivors, whose average age exceeds 83, increasingly worry about passing their lessons on to younger generations. 

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ATTACK? 

Nagasaki's sky was also hazy, but visibility briefly cleared. At 11:02 a.m., the Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton plutonium bomb dubbed “Fat Man” from 31,500 feet (9,600 meters). About 30 seconds later, the bomb exploded at 1,640 feet (500 meters) above a tennis court, hitting the mostly civilian district. Under the mushroom cloud that rose as high as 52,500 feet (16,000 meters), the blast destroyed about 70% of the city. Seconds later, the temperature at ground zero rose to 4,000 degrees Celsius (7,200 degrees Fahrenheit). All wooden houses within one kilometer of ground zero were destroyed by the blast and firestorm. About 20 minutes later, “black rain” of highly radioactive particles started falling onto the city, causing additional radiation exposure.

Above, a replica of "Fat Man" atomic bomb at the National Museum of Nuclear
 Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

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