View a timeline of the Chernobyl disaster

Watch an animated, step-by-step reconstruction of the Chernobyl explosion

This video shows how a 1986 safety test at Chernobyl spiraled out of control—leading to a massive rise in temperatures, an explosion and reactor meltdown that produced the largest civilian nuclear disaster in history.

View a list of the worst nuclear meltdowns before 2013

Nuclear meltdowns occur when a reactor overheats and radioactive materials leach into the surrounding environment. While rare, the reasons for each occurrence—as detailed in this piece—can help establish new safety protocols for future reactors.

The Chernobyl disaster released more radioactive material than the Hiroshima bomb

A reactor explosion during a safety test resulted in a series of evacuations and resettlements that displaced over 300,000 people and left areas uninhabitable for up to 20,000 years. The Soviet government initially tried to hide the disaster, but rising radiation levels were identified by detectors in Sweden.

Watch an American news report of the Chernobyl disaster

Americans first heard about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster two days after the event, once abnormal radiation was detected in nearby countries. This forced Soviet officials to acknowledge the catastrophe publicly for the first time a few days after it occurred.

The Chernobyl disaster prompted a sharp decline in public confidence in nuclear power

A Gallup poll from two months after the disaster showed 73% of respondents opposed building a nuclear plant near their homes—up from 45% in 1976. Chernobyl and other nuclear accidents remain in the public consciousness today in debates about nuclear power.

Chernobyl pushed the world to create rapid-alert systems for nuclear accidents

In the aftermath of the disaster, nations adopted new agreements requiring immediate international notification of nuclear accidents. They coordinated emergency assistance—efforts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent future disasters from being concealed when radiation emergencies occur.

Explore illustrative depictions of Chernobyl in comic books

Pieces related to the location since the nuclear disaster have told stories about radioactive vampires and monsters, accounts of bureaucratic corruption and creed, and visual retellings of experiences those in the region lived through before and after the event.

An imbalance in nuclear reactivity factors caused Chernobyl's reactor to explode

The initial explosion resulted from excessive steam pressure that had built up in a runaway manner due to design flaws and violations of safety protocols. Once exposed to atmospheric oxygen, the hot graphite in the control rods underwent a combustion reaction, resulting in a secondary explosion.

View the abandoned town of Pripyat, a year after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

The town's 50,000 residents were evacuated more than a day after the explosions at Chernobyl, leaving behind schools, apartments, and streets seemingly frozen in time. Most evacuees were resettled to Slavutych, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the plant.

View a photographic timeline of the building of Chernobyl's containment structures

The first structure—built to last 20 to 30 years—served as a covering for the exploded reactor and was built from about 16 million pounds of steel. In 2016, a new containment shell was constructed nearby and rolled onto the previous structure before being finalized in 2019.

Limited transparency soon after Chernobyl made it a source of conspiracy theories

Some rumors about the event became perceived as more reliable than the Soviet mass media, which had omitted key information during the early days of uncertainty. The resulting theories included CIA involvement in the disaster, three-headed birds, aliens, and a weaponized earthquake.

More than 500,000 people worked to contain Chernobyl's fallout

The group—collectively referred to as "liquidators"—included firefighters, military troops, miners, engineers and sanitation crews. Beyond clearing radioactive debris and performing decontamination work, they confined radioactive material to prevent its spread into groundwater.

The 'Chernobyl' miniseries is one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows ever

The five-episode historical drama earned near-universal acclaim for its historical detail and haunting portrayal of the 1986 disaster, winning 10 Emmys and topping IMDb's all-time TV rankings upon its release.

Exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear accidents can damage DNA

The damage can increase the risks of cancer, cataracts, heart disease, and other illnesses based on exposure times and intensities. Contaminated food, water, air, or soil from near nuclear accidents can further prolong one's exposure.

The 'Elephant's Foot' in Chernobyl is part of the largest documented mass of corium

The nuclear disaster produced around 200 tons of nuclear fuel that mixed with the surrounding melted reactor core materials. As of 2025, corium has been naturally formed four other times in history: once during the Three Mile Island accident and three times at the Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has destabilized safety and oversight at Chernobyl

Russian forces cut power and disabled monitoring of the decommissioned nuclear power plant in 2022, endangering operators at Chernobyl. In February 2025, a Russian drone struck the confinement structure—part of broader efforts to pressure Ukraine's energy infrastructure—punching a hole in the containment shell.

Watch the Challenger disaster unfold in real time

On January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds after liftoff. This live CNN broadcast captures the tragedy as it happened—second by second—showing the shock and confusion of one of NASA's darkest moments.

Nuclear weapons in WWII

This 14-minute interactive documentary broaches the subject of the human cost of nuclear warfare. Comparing the number of deaths during World War II with the projected deaths of a nuclear exchange, the video can be paused to delve deeper into individual statistics, historical tidbits, and more data that shows the terrible price humanity would pay.

Explore the decommissioning work at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

This virtual tour explores the nuclear disaster site, which resulted from a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and the various processes underway to remove debris, fuel, and contaminated water.

The Chernobyl virus earned its name for activating on the meltdown's anniversary

Affecting Windows 95 and 98 computers, it filled gaps in the code of any program opened after infecting a computer, earning it the nickname "Spacefiller." On April 26, 1999, the virus overwrote part of the software responsible for booting up a computer, rendering it unusable.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

View the 10 biggest volcanic eruptions in recorded history

The Mount Tambora eruption in 1815 was the deadliest and released so much sun-blocking ash and gas that 1816 became known as “the year without summer.” The resulting global food shortages are estimated to have killed over 71,000 people.

See a timeline of the major moments in Soviet history

Beginning with Lenin’s return to Russia from Germany in 1917 and ending with Gorbachev’s resignation on December 25, 1991, this timeline outlines the significant domestic and foreign policy developments that led to the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.

Hundreds of vulnerable Chicago residents died in 1995 during a long-lasting heat wave

Eric Klinenberg wrote a book diving into the specifics of the heat wave. His book, detailing the stories and context fueling more than 700 deaths during just one summer week, helps readers understand how social infrastructure lapses, power outages, and ineffective heat responses led to so many deaths.

The Age of Dinosaurs ended in fiery disaster

How did dinosaurs become extinct? Explore the Cretaceous extinction event and the role of the Chicxulub impact in the death of dinosaurs (except birds).

There were 12 on-track fatalities in the 1970s

The decade found engineers pushing Formula 1 cars to their limits. The cars were faster than ever and drivers were taking bigger risks to win. Safety features, however, remained the same. With vintage footage and driver interviews, this Daily Fuel Up video explores some of the wildest crashes from the era and, importantly, what changes FIA made following the decade’s 12 driver deaths.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

See how Ebola tore through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in 2014-2016.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.