TV's most memorable moments

Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack Sept. 11, 2001, in New York.

This event tops a list of memorable moments ranked for their impact in a study by Sony Electronics and Nielsen television research company. Keep clicking to see what the others were.

Watch CBS News 9/11 coverage

Hurricane Katrina 2005

People sit on their front porch as their neighborhood is flooded after Hurricane Katrina hit the area Aug. 29, 2005, in New Orleans.

Watch a CBS News report on Hurricane Katrina

O.J. Simpson murder verdict 1995

O.J. Simpson shows the jury a new pair of Aris extra-large gloves, similar to the gloves found at the Bundy and Rockingham crime scene, on June 21, 1995, during his double murder trial in Los Angeles.

Watch a CBS News report on the verdict

Challenger space shuttle disaster 1986

The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 28, 1986.

Watch a CBS News report on the Challenger disaster

Death of Osama bin Laden 2011

Al Qaeda weakened 1 year after bin Laden death

Osama bin Laden, the former head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaed, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 1011, by Navy SEALs of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as Seal Team Six.

Watch a CBS News report on Osama bin Laden's death

O.J. Simpson high-speed car chase 1994

Motorists wave as police cars pursue the white Ford Bronco driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994, on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.

Earthquake/tsunami in Japan 2011

Chieko Chiba walks through the rubble after going to see her destroyed home March 16, 2011, in Kesennuma, Miyagi province, Japan. The 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake struck offshore on March 11 at 2:46pm local time, triggering a tsunami, which engulfed large parts of northeastern Japan.

Columbine school shooting 1999

Police stand outside the east entrance of Columbine High school as bomb squads and SWAT teams secure students April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colo. Thirteen students and one teacher died, making it one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, stormed the school with bombs, shotguns and semi-automatic weapons and began their killing spree. The two committed suicide during their rampage.

BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010

Fire boat response crews spray water on the blazing remnants of BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig on April 21, 2010 . BP settled lawsuits brought by more than 100,000 fishermen who lost work, cleanup workers who got sick and others who claimed harm from the oil giant's 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in the nation's history.

Funeral of Princess Diana 1997

From left, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles approach the gun carriage with the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, in London on Sept. 6, 1997, during the funeral ceremony.

Death of Whitney Houston 2012

The hearse carrying the body of singer Whitney Houston leaves the Whigham Funeral Home on Feb. 18, 2012, in Newark, N.J., en route to a private funeral at the New Hope Baptist Church.

Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein 2006

This image, taken from Iraqi national television station Al-iraqia video, shows former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein being led into the gallows room to be prepared for hanging, on Dec. 30, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. The former Iraqi president was executed by hanging in a secure facility in the Northern Baghdad suburb of Khadimeya.

Barack Obama acceptance speech 2008

President-elect Barack Obama acknowledges the crowd as he joined by wife Michelle and daughters Sacha and Malia following his victory speech at his election party in Chicago on Nov. 4, 2008.

Prince William, Kate Middleton wedding 2011

113623877.jpg_wed.jpg — CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, look at each other as they come out of Westminster Abbey following their wedding ceremony, in London, on April 29, 2011.

Assassination of John F. Kennedy 1963

President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline, shortly before his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Oklahoma City bombing 1995

Floodlights illuminate the Albert P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City April 20, 1995 as rescuers continue searching for bodies in the aftermath of the April 19 explosion caused by a fuel-and fertilizer truck bomb that was detonated in front of the building. The blast killed 168 people and injured more than 500. Timothy McVeigh, convicted on first-degree murder charges for the bombing, was sentenced to death in 1997.

Bush/Gore election results 2000

People in Times Square watch Vice President Al Gore concede the race for president to George W. Bush Dec. 13, 2000, on a giant video screen in New York.

Los Angeles riots/Rodney King beating 1992

Rodney King, whose beating by LAPD officers sparked the riots, speaks during a news conference on May 1, 1992, in Beverly Hills. His attorney, Steven Lerman, is at left. King called for the end of violence in the city, poignantly pleading, "Can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the older people and the kids?" The rioting broke out after police officers were acquitted of charges in the beating. King died earlier this year.

Casey Anthony murder trial verdict 2011

Casey Anthony reacts after the jury acquitted her of murdering her daughter, Caylee, during Anthony's murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., July 5, 2011.

Funeral of John F. Kennedy 1963

Jacqueline Kennedy, center, stands with her two children Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. and brothers-in law Ted Kennedy, left back, and Robert Kennedy, second from the right, at the funeral of her husband President John F. Kennedy Nov. 26, 1963, in Washington.