sixty years after hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. More than 120,000 people died in the bombings, and nearly a quarter of a million died from lingering effects.

These are the only two nuclear weapons ever to have been used in warfare, but the nations of the world have collectively detonated more than 2000 nuclear bombs for purposes of testing.

The superpowers monitor the globe with satellites that can give early warnings in case of a nuclear attack. In some cases, these satellites have prevented nuclear war when ground-based detection systems gave false alarms.

Does the human race have the wisdom and courage to refrain from using such destructive power? On this anniversary of the world's first nuclear attack, let's pray that there won't ever be another.