Huge Meteorite Hits the Moon
Recently, scientists in Spain reported that last September they observed the ‘largest’ and ‘brightest’ meteorite impact with the moon in recorded history.
Recently, scientists in Spain reported that last September they observed the ‘largest’ and ‘brightest’ meteorite impact with the moon in recorded history.
The resulting flash was so great it was most likely visible from Earth.
After the initial impact and explosion, an afterglow remained for 8 seconds.
It’s estimated that the space rock that collided with the surface was about 900 pounds and was travelling nearly 40 thousand miles per hour when it made impact.
The meteorite left behind a sizeable crater, an indentation that, according to the scientists, is just over 130 feet wide.
Of course, close-ups photo of the moon show evidence that this sort of thing happens all the time, just usually with smaller objects.
Unlike Earth, the moon doesn’t have the benefit of a meteor-incinerating atmosphere, so it’s particularly vulnerable to getting hit by objects propelling through space.
What isn’t typical is that it gets pummeled by something that big.
The event was caught by the MIDAS telescope system, which keeps tabs on the moon’s surface activity.
The system detects the impact flashes on the moon, and of particular interest to the project is identifying the rock clusters that strike both Earth and the moon, and where they are coming from.
Recently, scientists in Spain reported that last September they observed the ‘largest’ and ‘brightest’ meteorite impact with the moon in recorded history.
The resulting flash was so great it was most likely visible from Earth.
After the initial impact and explosion, an afterglow remained for 8 seconds.
It’s estimated that the space rock that collided with the surface was about 900 pounds and was travelling nearly 40 thousand miles per hour when it made impact.
The meteorite left behind a sizeable crater, an indentation that, according to the scientists, is just over 130 feet wide.
Of course, close-ups photo of the moon show evidence that this sort of thing happens all the time, just usually with smaller objects.
Unlike Earth, the moon doesn’t have the benefit of a meteor-incinerating atmosphere, so it’s particularly vulnerable to getting hit by objects propelling through space.
What isn’t typical is that it gets pummeled by something that big.
The event was caught by the MIDAS telescope system, which keeps tabs on the moon’s surface activity.
The system detects the impact flashes on the moon, and of particular interest to the project is identifying the rock clusters that strike both Earth and the moon, and where they are coming from.
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