Get ready for an out-of-this-world revelation! Two meteors have collided with the moon, and the footage is nothing short of breathtaking.
Japanese astronomer Daichi Fujii, curator at the Hiratsuka City Museum, captured these rare moments on October 30th and November 1st. The flashes, visible for a mere instant from Earth, were caused by space rocks hurtling towards the moon's surface at incredible speeds.
As we approach the peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower on November 5th, and with the Northern Taurids following suit on November 9th, it's not just Earth's skies that are lighting up. Fujii's recordings, shared on his X account, showcase the dramatic impacts on the moon's nightside.
The first collision occurred at 8:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time on October 30th, while the second strike happened at 8:49 p.m. Japan Standard Time on November 1st. Fujii's calculations suggest that the October 30th flash was likely caused by a Taurid meteor, striking the moon at an angle of 35 degrees and a velocity of 27 km/s. The estimated mass of the meteoroid was a mere 0.4 pounds, yet it created a flash lasting just 0.1 seconds and excavated a crater approximately 10 feet wide.
"The pixels were saturated, indicating the flash might have been even brighter than the data suggests," Fujii explained to Space.com.
The second flash, on November 1st, appeared west of Oceanus Procellarum, one of the moon's largest lunar maria. While the origin of these impacts is still uncertain, Fujii notes that the timing aligns with the increased activity of the meteor showers.
Fujii has become a leading recorder of such events, having started observing lunar impact flashes around 2011 and continuously doing so since 2020. With his 20cm telescope, he typically detects one impact flash every few dozen hours of observation.
"Because the thin crescent moon is visible only briefly and often low in the sky where thin clouds are common, I only observe a few dozen flashes per year," Fujii said.
So far, Fujii has documented a total of 60 flashes. Unlike Earth, which has a thick atmosphere that vaporizes most meteors before they reach the ground, the moon's virtually non-existent atmosphere means incoming meteors have nothing to slow them down. As a result, they crash into the moon's surface at speeds ranging from 45,000 to 160,000 mph, releasing powerful bursts of light and heat upon impact.
Even small meteoroids weighing just a few pounds can create craters tens of feet across. For instance, a rock with a mass of 11 pounds can gouge a crater over 30 feet wide and eject over 75 metric tons of lunar soil and rock, according to NASA.
This phenomenon is a stark reminder of the differences between Earth and its moon. While Earth is protected by its atmosphere, the moon's surface is vulnerable to these high-speed collisions.
And here's where it gets controversial: Could these impacts have a significant impact on the moon's surface over time? What does this mean for future lunar exploration and our understanding of space?
These questions and more are up for discussion. What are your thoughts on these meteor collisions? Do you think they could have a lasting effect on the moon's surface? Share your insights and join the conversation in the comments!
