Enjoy these 20 jaw-dropping photos that highlight the raw power of nuclear explosions and the people who watched in awe.
Folks at Hotel Last Frontier watch another explosion from the pool, 1953.
Ballerina Sally McCloskey strikes a pose with an atomic explosion detonating 40 miles away.
Guests at Hotel Last Frontier in Las Vegas witness an explosion from the pool.
Photographers take in all the blinding sights of a nuclear blast — date unknown.
A nuclear explosion detonates over the Las Vegas skyline, June 1957.
“Atomic Tourists” watch a bomb detonate near Las Vegas, Nevada.
Soldiers place their hands alongside a mushroom cloud in Nevada in May, 1952.
Air Force officers watch h a nuclear bomb detonate roughly 18,500 feet in the air, circa July 1957.
Troops gather ’round to watch a nuclear test, 1951.
Solders sit while witnessing a massive explosion in Nevada.
Canadian and British witnesses watch a nuclear test in Nevada, April 1955.
A mother and her son watch an atomic explosion from the comfort of their Las Vegas home, 1951.
Filmmakers capture an explosion at the Nevada test site, 1957.
Camera people film an atomic test, date unknown
Tourists look down upon a crater from a past nuclear test, 1962.