moon Struck:โฃ Twoโ Meteor Impacts Recorded in Quick Succession
TOKYO – In a rare celestial event, astronomers haveโ documented two meteoroid impacts on โขthe moon within aโ two-day period, captured by the fujii telescope camera. Both flashes, lasting only a fraction of a second, were luminousโค enough for clear recording, โขoffering valuable data on the lunar impact rate.
The impacts, reported byโ The New York Times โand Space.com,โข were caused by small meteoroids, severalโ centimeters in size,โ striking the lunar surface. Unlike Earth,the Moon lacks a protective โคatmosphere,meaning even small spaceโค objects can directly impact and create visible flashes due toโ the immense energy released.
Scientists estimateโ the meteoroids were traveling โat โspeeds exceeding 27 kilometers per second – roughly 60,000 miles per hour. This velocity would โขgenerate craters โคmeasuring three to ten meters in diameter, despite the objects’ โฃrelatively small size.
The close timing of the impacts โis particularlyโ noteworthy. Experts โbelieve theโฃ events are likely linked โto the annual Taurid meteor shower, peaking in โฃlate October to early November. This shower originates from debris left behind by Comet Encke,and its particles can cause impacts on both the Moon and โEarth’s atmosphere.
The recorded video was shared with โฃand validated by the Japanese sky observing agency (JAXA), confirming the incidents โasโ genuine collisions and ruling out light โคreflectionsโ or camera interference.
Observations like these are crucialโค for โunderstanding the frequency of meteoroid impacts on the Moon. This data is increasingly importantโ as โคNASA โand other space agencies prepare for future human exploration missions, aiding in the identification of saferโฃ landing sites for probes and astronauts.