A meteorite with a diameter of 12 cm crashed into the Moon, creating a crater that is 3 meters wide and 0.4 meters deep. This impact was recorded on November 7 and has just been announced by the Space Environment team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
 |
Simulation of the Impact |
The collision produced a flash brighter than the faintest star visible to the naked eye. The brightness of the impact was equivalent to a star with an apparent magnitude of 7. The possibility that this flash was from a moving satellite has been ruled out.
Robert Suggs, the team leader, and astronomer Bill Cooke examined star maps and used lunar imaging software.
As a result, they confirmed that the meteorite was definitely part of the Taurid meteor shower, which occurs annually. This meteor shower coincided with the time of the impact, and experts believe it consists of debris from Comet Encke.
This research is of great interest as NASA plans to return to the Moon. The agency needs to understand lunar impacts from meteorites to protect future explorers and any bases established there. Earth’s atmosphere vaporizes most small meteorites, creating a brief flash of light. However, nothing prevents meteorites from crashing down on the Moon.
Minh Sơn (According to Space)
