Astronomer captures the fall of a meteorite on the moon (Video)
(ORDO NEWS) — On February 23, 2023, Japanese astronomer Daichi Fujii took a picture of a meteorite crashing into the moon.
A Japanese astronomer captured a characteristic flash from a meteorite collision with the moon. The result of the collision was a brief flash on the Earth‘s natural satellite.
Meteorites move at an average speed of about 48,280 km/h, or 13.4 km/s. Their high-speed impacts generate intense heat and create craters, as well as emitting a bright flash of light.
Impacts can be seen from the Earth if they are strong enough and occur in the area facing the Earth on a moonlit night.
The newly formed crater could be about a dozen meters in diameter and could eventually be imaged by NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or India‘s Chandrayaan 2 lunar probe, Fujii said.
Although meteorites collide with Earth on a daily basis, most of them burn up completely on contact with the atmosphere.
The moon, for example, has a very weak exosphere, which causes meteorites to hit the surface and create craters on it.
These space rocks constantly hit the lunar surface, sometimes breaking into small particles and throwing soil to the side.
Filming these events also has scientific value, helping scientists learn the speed of impacts on the lunar surface.
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