Japanese astronomer captured the moment a meteorite hit the Moon. (Video: Twitter/dfuji1)
While the space agencies of various countries rush to prepare missions to return to the Lunaa Japanese astronomer has captured a unique event on the surface of our natural satellite.
Daichi Fujii, a scientist who works at the Hiratsuka City Museum, on the outskirts of Tokyo, managed to record the exact moment when a meteorite collided with the Moon.
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The impact, which caused a brief flash on the surface, was observed in February. The clip with the phenomenon was published on Twitter and became viral this week.
The flash caused by the impact can be seen in the lower right corner of the image as a white dot. (Screenshot: Twitter/dfuji1)
“Since the Moon has no atmosphere, meteorites of that size are impossible to see from Earth. But at the moment of impact, when a crater is formed, it shines”, declared the astronomer. And he added: “It was a huge flash that kept shining for more than a second.”
Astronomers suspect that the newly formed depression on the Moon from the meteorite fall might be more than 12 meters in diameter. On the other hand, it is possible that the NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) can spot the formation in the next few days.
The capture of these events, in addition to being a curiosity, has great scientific value. Their observation helps scientists to know the rate of impacts on the lunar surface. This is even more relevant when one considers that the United States and other countries are preparing to send astronauts to the Moon in the next few years.
the craters of the moon
Although dozens of meteorites strike Earth every day, the vast majority of them burn up completely on contact with the atmosphere. The Moon, however, has an exosphere –outermost layer of the atmosphere very dim. This means that the asteroids that reach it impact its surface and create that characteristic appearance, similar to Gruyère cheese.
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The Moon already has innumerable craters up to 2,500 kilometers in diameter. Lacking atmosphere, our satellite is helpless before the constant bombardment of meteorites and asteroids, as well as the spaceships that occasionally arrive, some of them intentionally crashed for scientific purposes.