Date in year · 1979 · The 1970s
On September 22, 1979, a bright flash, resembling the detonation of a nuclear weapon, is observed near the Prince Edward Islands. Its cause is never determined. The year's #1 song was "My Sharona" by The Knack. Ruth Beitia, Iván Alonso, Malcolm Christie would arrive in the same year.
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1979
1970s
Featured · September 22, 1979
The Vela incident was an atmospheric nuclear explosion that occurred on 22 September 1979, near the South African territory of Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, roughly midway between Africa and Antarctica. This explosion is widely believed to have been an undeclared test of an Israeli nuclear weapon on the ocean surface, carried out with assistance from South Africa. Initially detected as a double flash of light by an American Vela Hotel satellite, further meteorological satellite, hydroacoustic, and radionuclide data support the event's identification as an atmospheric nuclear explosion.
Around 1979
1979 (MCMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1979th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 979th year of the 2nd millennium, the 79th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1970s decade.
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1979 undeclared nuclear explosion
The Vela incident was an atmospheric nuclear explosion that occurred on 22 September 1979, near the South African territory of Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, roughly midway between Africa and Antarctica. This explosion is widely believed to have been an undeclared test of an Israeli nuclear weapon on the ocean surface, carried out with assistance from South Africa. Initially detected as a double flash of light by an American Vela Hotel satellite, further meteorological satellite, hydroacoustic, and radionuclide data support the event's identification as an atmospheric nuclear explosion.
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