It has always been a mystery to some on how to blow up a planet. Obviously the methods used in Dragon Ball Z is not possible in the real world, so that’s out of the question. However, the method used in Star Wars could work, but it all depends on a few factors. So, how could this work in real life? Neil deGrasse Tyson attempts to solve the mystery for us via his Star Talk Radio podcast.

A listener to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast, name Alex, asked the following question.

“In the movie ‘Star Wars,’ we see the Death Star blow up the planet Alderaan. Setting aside the question of how this thing would be possible, what would happen to our solar system if the Empire blew up, say, Mars?”

In his reply, Tyson made the following statement.

“Yeah, that is such a great question,” deGrasse Tyson said. “It’s really simple: First, how would you go about blowing up a planet?”

“Here’s how you blow something up,” he explained. “You ask yourself how much energy is keeping it together. Then you put more than that amount of energy into the object. It will explode.”

So, is it possible to blow up a planet? Yes it is, but you would need a machine that has the ability to output more energy than what is keeping the unlucky planet together.

Furthermore, Tyson explained that if one should destroy Mars, Earth would not be harmed and would still orbit the Sun no sweat.

There you have it folks, a powerful Death Star like machine could theoretically destroy a planet in real life. Now it is time for us to fund the creation of this real-life Death Star and rule the Galaxy, Master.