Bursting once morest the earth’s satellite, the meteorite created a new crater, the diameter of which can exceed 10 meters
The curator of the museum of the city of Hiratsuka (Japan), Daichi Fujii, captured how a meteorite collided with the Moon, using the cameras installed in his house to monitor the Earth’s satellite, according to communicates on his Twitter account.
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“No satellite passed over the surface of the Moon at the time of observation, and the way it shone suggests that it was most likely a lunar impact flash,” Fujii wrote.
I was able to catch the biggest lunar impact flash in my observation history! This is a picture of the lunar impact flash that appeared at 20:14:30.8 on February 23, 2023, taken from my home in Hiratsuka (replayed at actual speed). It was a huge flash that continued to shine for more than 1 second. Since the moon has no atmosphere, meteors and fireballs cannot be seen, and the moment a crater is formed, it glows. pic.twitter.com/Bi2JhQa9Q0
— Daichi Fujii (@dfuji1) February 24, 2023
The collision caused a flash that shone for more than a second. The Japanese astronomer noted that the meteorite fell near the Ideler L crater and created a new crater, the diameter of which can exceed 10 meters. According to Fujii, “it is likely that the LRO telephoto camera on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter might detect the traces of the fall.”
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This is a still image of the lunar impact flash at 20:14:30.8 on February 23, 2023. It seems to have fallen near Ideler L crater, slightly northwest of Pitiscus crater. Because it is so bright, the generated crater is large, and the striations are clearly visible. It seems that the telephoto camera of NASA’s lunar probe LRO can detect the fall trace. pic.twitter.com/W2pWGfus55
— Daichi Fujii (@dfuji1) February 24, 2023
The Moon has a very fragile exosphere, so meteorites often fall on it, creating craters. Lunar impacts can only be seen from Earth when they are large enough and occur in the lunar night zone, on the part of the satellite facing our planet.
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It is believed that the data from the video might help scientists learn the frequency of impacts on the lunar surface, allowing them to prepare to send astronauts to the Moon.
