Space & Astronomy

Is it really possible to deflect an asteroid using nuclear weapons ?

By T.K. Randall
February 8, 2026

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Nuclear weapons have the potential to bring about the end of human civilization, but - according to a new study - they also have the potential to save us from an apocalypse as well.

In the movie Armageddon, Bruce Willis leads a ragtag crew into space to use a nuclear bomb to blow an incoming asteroid into two pieces, thus causing it to miss the Earth.

While this exact method is unlikely to ever work in real-life, the idea of using a nuclear explosion to deflect an asteroid so that it misses our planet entirely seemingly does have merit.Using a new simulation, researchers at the University of Oxford have shown that asteroid material is far more resilient to extreme forces than previously realized, meaning that a nuclear explosion would be more likely to change the object's trajectory than blow it into pieces.

To simulate a nuclear explosion, the team used CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron to fire high-energy protons at a fragment of the metal-rich, iron-nickel Campo del Cielo meteorite.

"The material became stronger, exhibiting an increase in yield strength, and displayed a self-stabilizing damping behavior," said study co-author Melanie Bochmann.

If a killer asteroid was headed straight for the Earth, therefore, nuclear weapons - rather than ending civilization - could actually save it.

Source: Mail Online

Tags: Asteroid, Nuclear