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Scientists Witness Meteor Strike on the Moon

Lonesome Squash writes "BBC reports that scientists have seen a smallish meteor strike on the moon. Impact only equivalent to 70kg of TNT, but still, you wouldn't want to have it land on your moonbase. At that size, it's kind of neat they saw it at all."

139 comments

  1. Dupe by __aacvzh55 · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:Dupe by Viper+Daimao · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Hey, it took them 9 days. I think they are getting better. Much better than that dupe of a story still on the front page. Plus this was right before christmas, editors probably werent paying full attention.

      --
      "In the game of life, someone always has to lose. To me, if life were fair, that someone would always be Oklahoma." -DKR
    2. Re:Dupe by Kijori · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Pretty memorable story though. Some of the dupes could almost be new stories, the same thing happens so often, but this is the only moon-explosion dupe I've seen here on /.

    3. Re:Dupe by kfg · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't be silly. The last one was about an explosion on the moon. That's exciting stuff. This one is simply about an ordinary old meteor strike.

      KFG

    4. Re:Dupe by Viper+Daimao · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Just be glad we dont have any "Thats no moon..." comment dupes.

      --
      "In the game of life, someone always has to lose. To me, if life were fair, that someone would always be Oklahoma." -DKR
    5. Re:Dupe by Elvis+Parsley · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      It's still early.

    6. Re:Dupe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Just be glad we dont have any "Thats no moon..." comment dupes.

      It's a trap!!!

    7. Re:Dupe by Viper+Daimao · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Whats with the mod abuse of all our replies being labeled offtopic? I wasnt the one who said dupe, I just responded to the guy who did. Guess I can watch my karma burn.

      --
      "In the game of life, someone always has to lose. To me, if life were fair, that someone would always be Oklahoma." -DKR
    8. Re:Dupe by master_p · · Score: 1

      Dupes are good. It gives us a chance to read topics posted while we were sleeping. Please have in mind that /. is read all over the globe.

    9. Re:Dupe by tomhudson · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes, but look at the misleading title:

      Scientists Witness Meteor Strike on the Moon

      I mean, when did we get scientists back on the moon in the first place? And was the meteor picketing, or was this a sit-down strike?

      Corrected headline:

      Scientists Witness Meteor Strike the Moon

    10. Re:Dupe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I marked them all as interesting to reverse that down mod they are showing up as offtopic though.

    11. Re:Dupe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So it's both a dupe and old news? ;)

    12. Re:Dupe by Viper+Daimao · · Score: 1

      looks like your interesting mod was deleted, or maybe I'm just not that familiar with the mod system and dont know why the posts no longer show an 'interesting' modifier

      --
      "In the game of life, someone always has to lose. To me, if life were fair, that someone would always be Oklahoma." -DKR
    13. Re:Dupe by saskboy · · Score: 1

      It's discomforting to know that if I'd written and submitted this story several weeks ago after I first checked to see that it had been posted, that I could have had yet another accepted story, and this would be a triplicate story.

      I guess dupes only happen on Slashdot once in an exploding Blue Moon though...

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
    14. Re:Dupe by kfg · · Score: 1

      It's discomforting to know that if I'd written and submitted this story several weeks . . .

      Save it up for several more weeks, then submit under the title "Dust Cloud Observed on Moon."

      KFG

    15. Re:Dupe by Schraegstrichpunkt · · Score: 1

      That indeed *would* be news. Dust clouds do not form on the moon.

    16. Re:Dupe by saskboy · · Score: 1

      The do briefly form when the surface is nailed by an explosion, driving dust into the "air".

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
    17. Re:Dupe by stonecypher · · Score: 1

      Well, in the theme of hair splittery,

            Scientists Witness Moon Meteor Strike

      But who's counting?

      --
      StoneCypher is Full of BS
    18. Re:Dupe by le+duf · · Score: 1
      Well, the Correct Corrected headline would be:
      Scientists Witness Meteoroid Strike the Moon
      as it wasn't a meteor, since it didn't burn up. (Kinda hard to to do without an atmosphere, don'tcha think?)
    19. Re:Dupe by tomhudson · · Score: 1

      Well, we could always send BushCo there as a first step to his "Mars Program" that seems to have sunk like a lead balloon. The resulting torrential outpouring of hot air would give the moon an atmoshpere like Venus - hot and toxic to human life. It would also result in a reduction in those same greenhouse gas emissions here on Earth.

    20. Re:Dupe by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Well, we could always send BushCo there as a first step to his "Mars Program" that seems to have sunk like a lead balloon.

      This is a pretty lame statement. Many of us were intelligent [or jaded] enough to know when it was announced that it was nothing more than handwaving.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    21. Re:Dupe by tomhudson · · Score: 1

      We took it as hand-waving, but in retrospect, I think Bush actually believed it.

      His powers of self-delusion make the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field look like the work of an fumble-thumbed amateur with a bread-board kit and cheap, lead-based solder (Bush, OTOH, may have have gotten his from eating cheap, lead-based paint chips :-)

      The worst part - a Mars colony is doable with current tech and resources, provided we don't care about bringing anyone back "home", but really want to establish a permanent base. The requirements don't scale well when you have to bring them back, as opposed to just one-way re-supply "trains".

  2. I don't understand by Pingular · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How they get that from that. Is there some kind of science behind it, or is it just guesswork?

    --

    When anger rises, think of the consequences.
    Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)
    1. Re:I don't understand by Billosaur · · Score: 2, Funny
      Is there some kind of science behind it, or is it just guesswork?

      Yes there is science behind it, but it's far too hard to understand. That flash wouldn't have been caused by aliens, or the secret NASA Moonbase, or any of the other possible.... [sounds of gunfire]

      Pay no attention to the previous paragraph. We're with the government and there is no cover-up...

      --
      GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    2. Re:I don't understand by rjstegbauer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ummm...Doesn't *every* impact explosion look similar? Doesn't seem to be too much of a stretch for me.

      Either that or...

      What a coincidence that the Reptilian camera caught the explosion with Earth in the background! Should make a good screen saver.

      --
      Enjoy,
      Randy

    3. Re:I don't understand by Skidge · · Score: 1

      The first picture was taken at the same film lot where they shot the moon landings, obviously.

    4. Re:I don't understand by Mondoz · · Score: 1

      That, or it just took out one of the real landing sites...

      --
      /sig
    5. Re:I don't understand by Galston · · Score: 0

      One of the Amazon Mturk trucks was driving past at the time and the BBC just leeched the image.

    6. Re:I don't understand by einhverfr · · Score: 1

      How they get that from that. Is there some kind of science behind it, or is it just guesswork?

      Well, I am fairly surprised by that artistic impression too. It seems that a fair bit of artistic license was taken with this. Oh well...

      --

      LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
    7. Re:I don't understand by raidient · · Score: 0

      Well the BBC appealed for people to come forward with cell phone camera pictures, (their usual MO these days) but no eye-witnesses responded.

      --
      My faith is expressed through Nihilism. Do you understand?
  3. popcorn 'n cheese by BushCheney08 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wasn't that same JiffyPop diagram used for another article recently?

    --
    Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
    1. Re:popcorn 'n cheese by justinmikehunt · · Score: 0
    2. Re:popcorn 'n cheese by Enigma_Man · · Score: 1

      You're probably thinking of the exact same article :)

      --
      Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
  4. That explains it! by cciRRus · · Score: 4, Funny

    The meteor must have destroyed the moon buggy that we are searching all along! In your face, conspiracy theorists!

    --
    w00t
  5. Lunar Embassy by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Danm it! I paid $20 dollars for that plot an all I got was this lousy meteorite hit. It's always the same. The minute you buy, some chump down the street gets blown away or some meteorite just crashes all over prime development land. And me with all these solar power bills to pay.

    What next!

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
    1. Re:Lunar Embassy by Pryon · · Score: 1

      What, you don't like a high-yield crystite mine?

    2. Re:Lunar Embassy by whitehatlurker · · Score: 1

      Did you do too much MULE when you were younger, too?

      --
      .. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
  6. It's a shame by towaz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That no one is visiting the moon anytime soon; well hopefully China. The amount of meteors that must be around could probable find ones like that rock with worms in it.
    Would settle the score about earth contamination at least.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire
    1. Re:It's a shame by sgcarter · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You mean this rock?

    2. Re:It's a shame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That no one is visiting the moon anytime soon..

      Russians sent several Moon robots (Lunokhods) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990109.html and got Moon rocks back. That's much easier way to get stuff from the Moon than manned missions.

  7. From the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They say "scientists witnessed it all".. and the photograph that comes along with the article states "this is what it might have looked like"...

    I mean, if you saw it, post some pictures!

    Errrrrrr , wha?????? Am I the only person to say "WTF??"

  8. Re:moon terrorists by ZeroExistenZ · · Score: 1, Funny

    Netcraft confirms, secret CIA bases on the moon.
    Bush shakes fist.

    --
    I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
  9. In Other News... by DeathByDuke · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Slashdot Astronomers observe another dupe impact CmdrTacos house

  10. All these damn strikes by dada21 · · Score: 0

    Everywhere I look I see these damn strikes, and now the Meteors are picketing, too?

    At least it's on the moon and shouldn't affect my daily travels like they did in New York a few days ago. Sheesh.

  11. FF VII-2 by Ironballs · · Score: 2, Funny

    To me sounds like Sephiroth has been defeated again

  12. Thats awesome news! by Tune · · Score: 5, Funny

    This proves that - apparently - scientists have finally been able to *exactly* reproduce previous empirical results. Just imagine: not only is the impact exactly the same and on the same spot; on top of that the same musings appear on /. !

    Amazing..

    1. Re:Thats awesome news! by ConsumerOfMany · · Score: 0

      Please, empirical shmerical. I have text thousands of years old that proves a higher power guided that meteor in.

    2. Re:Thats awesome news! by bhsurfer · · Score: 2, Funny

      I only hope that it didn't have the same catastrophic effect on the moon dinosaurs as the first one did...

      --
      Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
      Groucho Marx
    3. Re:Thats awesome news! by Basehart · · Score: 1

      This is the funniest comment I've seen so far this year!

  13. Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Caspian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There is an urban legend that at one point, the US Department of Defense actually wanted to NUKE the moon. I think the idea was supposedly that they would nuke a point on the moon that would appear to be one of the edges of the moon, as viewed from Moscow, so Muscovites (including the KGB) could actually see the blast with the naked eye. This was, of course, to be a demonstration of American military might designed to impress and frighten the USSR.

    Can anyone comment upon the truth (or lack thereof) of this particular rumor?

    --
    With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
    1. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Quick Google search found it. It looks like it was true. Carl Sagan even worked as part of the project.

      http://www.space.com/news/spacehistory/nuke_moon_0 00514.html

    2. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't they know nuclear explosions can blast the Moon out of Earth orbit, setting the stage for a television series ?

    3. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      the US Department of Defense actually wanted to NUKE the moon..... to be a demonstration of American military might designed to impress and frighten the USSR.

      Then USSR would nuke the other side, starting a moon war and turn it into a vast sea of craters.......oh wait.

    4. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Alpha_Traveller · · Score: 1

      Wow. Right out of Space 1999. Thank god they never went through with it.

      --
      "Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important." (Lisa Hoffman)
    5. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by mikael · · Score: 1

      ... but they were deterred from carrying out this plan for fear of what retaliatory action the Soup Dragon and the rest of the Clangers would carry out (see the Astronaut episode for more details).

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    6. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      It was decided that the Moon was too remote to make an effective demonstration

    7. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by ross.w · · Score: 1

      ... we will deal with your Russian friends soon enough.

      --
      If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
    8. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by oni · · Score: 1

      Thank god they never went through with it.

      Why not? a: it's better than detonating nukes on Earth
      b: everyone would be able to SEE it. It would seem more real than just reading about or watching videos of nukes. Maybe it would have a positive effect on us all.

    9. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      pffft, a very large thermonuclear device, say 15 megatons, would make a crate less than 1.5 miles wide and a quarter of that deep in solid rock. The moon already has plenty of craters that size and you can't even see them with the naked eye.

    10. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Alpha_Traveller · · Score: 1

      Well...not if they actually knocked the moon out of orbit or something (of course that would probably take one hell of a bomb right? :)

      --
      "Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important." (Lisa Hoffman)
    11. Re:Speaking of explosions on the moon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In case you're not joking, let me just assure that was a really stupid question. All the nukes ever made couldn't budge the moon one single inch.

  14. Artistic renderings by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 1

    (For those who R'd TFA)

    Don't you love cool images that make you say "wow!" and have a tiny caption at the bottom, saying:

    "The impact may have looked something like this" or
    "artist's rendering of ..."?

    I think I'd stay with the real thing, thank you.

    1. Re:Artistic renderings by saider · · Score: 3, Funny

      I agree. Those 5 bright pixels are stunning.

      Much science data is boring to non-scientists and the visuals help engage the casual reader.

      --


      Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
  15. Oops by Caspian · · Score: 1
    ...one of the edges of the moon...
    I meant "on the edges of the moon", or more properly "on the edge of the moon", since a horizon visible as a circle is one "edge", I guess.
    --
    With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
  16. So That's Where it Went! by Dante+Shamest · · Score: 3, Funny

    And I thought my Meteor Strike didn't work. I just need to polish up my aiming.

    1. Re:So That's Where it Went! by Gabrill · · Score: 1

      It's just that they take so long to actually hit. I like Frozen Orb much better. Wait, are we talking about the moon, anymore?

      --
      Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
  17. In other news. by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 3, Funny

    The NY City subway drivers union filed a complaint against whomever is hurling rocks at the moon, claiming they're just trying to biggyback on the success of their recent strike.
    Intelligent Rock Hurler was not available for comment. His coworkers who plot out the precise trajectories of rocks that result in these strikes also refused to talk to our reporters.

    --
    If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
    1. Re:In other news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The NYC Transit Authority has a long history planning for lunar exploration via bombardment, some of its membership even proposed sending a woman "bang, zoom" to the moon back before Sputnik was even on the drawing boards.

  18. Re:moon terrorists by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

    It happened on November 7th, but maybe it was November 5th on the Lunar calendar? Remember the Guy! (400th anniversary.)

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  19. a smallish fetish by digitaldc · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just use the word small, smallish just means rather small. Now the word small just looks weird.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  20. I guess by dr_dank · · Score: 1

    I guess that lunar Ben Affleck and lunar Bruce Willis and their ragtag group of lunar drilling guys failed to blow up the asteroid.

    --
    Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  21. In before quotes by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 4, Funny

    M-O-O-N, that spells explosion...

  22. Odd coincidence... by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    Last night, out of the blue, my son wanted to know about craters on the moon and meteors, so we got out some astronomy books and chatted about the comet that crashed into Jupiter.

    He's five, so I doubt he's reading Slashdot (yet)...

    1. Re:Odd coincidence... by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

      He's five, so I doubt he's reading Slashdot (yet)...

        are you sure?? I see a lot of five year olds posting to /. all the time :D

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    2. Re:Odd coincidence... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      so we got out some astronomy books and chatted about the comet that crashed into Jupiter. He's five,

      Did the conversation end with, "This is what happens when you don't brush your teeth and clean your room"? Always worked on my kids.

    3. Re:Odd coincidence... by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      No, but he wasn't too fond of the concept of solar death, either.

    4. Re:Odd coincidence... by metlin · · Score: 1


      I don't think CmdrTaco would appreciate you calling him a 5 year old. ;-)

    5. Re:Odd coincidence... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      No, but he wasn't too fond of the concept of solar death, either.

      You mean like, "Why should I make my bed when the Sun is going to puff up into a huge fireball and cook my bed?"

  23. Re:Only 70kg? by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Which is pretty good for a little 12 centimeter (anything is a WMD--imagine if it had been a whole Volkswagen (VWMD)!

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  24. Old News by ackthpt · · Score: 1
    I read this last year. It was neat, sorta, but a bit overrated.

    What was more interesting from the article, was the toxicity of Moon Dust and the fact that it's highly abrasive, sticks to everything and gets into everything because it's so light.

    Seems back when the contest was announced for an autonomous robot to pick up regolite having to contend with the dust should be the greatest consideration.

    In organic gardening, I used fossilized diatoms (diatomaceous earth, often used in pool filters) to fight worms, as it is to them like rolling around in broken glass.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Old News by Jaseoldboss · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you subscribe to NASA Science News you get to read about it on December 23rd. Link

      Click "Join mailing list" at the top.

  25. I'll go out on a limb here... by qzulla · · Score: 5, Funny
    Now, I am no astro expert but I *think* I have the answer to this one:

    However, as Nasa plans to return to the Moon by 2020, the agency says it needs to understand what happens after lunar impacts in order to protect astronauts.

    I am guessing that there will be a crater of some sort after the impact. Maybe some floating dust. That sort of thing.

    qz

    1. Re:I'll go out on a limb here... by John+Hasler · · Score: 4, Informative

      > I am guessing that there will be a crater of some sort after the
      > impact. Maybe some floating dust.

      Dust doesn't float very well in a vacuum. In fact, it doesn't float at all. Dust particles created by the explosion will follow ballistic trajectories just like those of the larger fragments. This is important because while you are unlikely to be hit by a large chunk if you're kilometers away 1000 m/s dust could do a lot of damage.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    2. Re:I'll go out on a limb here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dust doesn't float very well in a vacuum.

      Dust is kicked up by the impact then held more or less in place by gravity. How is this not floating?

    3. Re:I'll go out on a limb here... by shawnce · · Score: 1

      "floating" implies that the dust is randomly moving around despite the affects of gravity and it implies it is "floating" in something (water, "air", etc.). For floating to take place you need some external force that can over come gravity such as Brownian motion and/or electrostatics.

      floating |?fl?ti ng | adjective [ attrib. ]
      1 buoyant or suspended in water or air : a massive floating platform.
      2 not settled in a definite place; fluctuating or variable : the floating population that is migrating to the cities.

    4. Re:I'll go out on a limb here... by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 1
      Dust doesn't float very well in a vacuum . . .

      I think it would look something like "floating" where the dust particles collide with each other an are sent off in new directions. This would simulate the floating phenomenon in areas where the concentration of dust is sufficiently great.

      Your point about the 1000 m/s dust made me wonder what the escape velocity is on the moon. I did a little googling, and that number appears to be around 2400 m/s. So I guess the good news is there's an upper limit to the speed of the dust you'll get pummelled with on the moon from meteorite-ejected debris.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    5. Re:I'll go out on a limb here... by brontus3927 · · Score: 1

      Actually, IIRC, lunar dust tends to hover over the regolith due to some combination of the low gravity and static charges in the dust.

    6. Re:I'll go out on a limb here... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      So I guess the good news is there's an upper limit to the speed of the dust you'll get pummelled with on the moon from meteorite-ejected debris.

      You mean, if you are shielded from dust on ballistic trajectories? The stuff ejected sideways will travel for some distance, influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon, before escaping.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  26. Re:Only 70kg? by AndroidCat · · Score: 1
    (Slashdot could be smarter about handling non-HTML Which is pretty good for a little 12 centimeter (< 5") rock. Mind you, at 27 km/s, just about anything is a WMD--imagine if it had been a whole Volkswagen (VWMD)!

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  27. Not as big as Moon Base Alpha explosion in '99 by srobert · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember it well, it was only 7 years ago, but somehow it seems more like 30.

    1. Re:Not as big as Moon Base Alpha explosion in '99 by Harodotus · · Score: 2, Funny

      The so-called explosion wasn't even "NEAR" moon-base alpha, was far away on the dark side at several of the the nuclear waste disposal and storage facilities. As I recall, it took the better part of an hour by Eagle landers to reach it. This safety measure protected the residents of Moon Base Alpha even in the worst-case scenario that occurred in '99

      Furthermore, It's minute long spontaneous ignition (caused by improper management of the facility and not following the safety specifications) was hardly an explosion, it was more like a briefly sustained fusion (fission?) event.

      I do have to concede that it was certainly many orders of magnitude greater in terms of energy release. The Lunar ignition of '99 generated enough energy to accelerate a body the size of the moon by 5Gs or so (nobody blacked out from the acceleration) and sustain it long enough to have escape Solar system escape velocity. Various theories about the discrepancy between a 60 second 5G acceleration and Solar system escape velocity being caused by the previously unknown "space warp" are still under investigation.

      --
      Its not users who are broken, it's systems not taking account their likely behaviour and fixing it technically.
  28. Same shit, different day by TreeHugger04 · · Score: 0

    "People just do not look at the moon anymore," said Dr Suggs, of Marshall's engineering directorate. I do sometimes but it looks the same shit to me.

    --
    A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in an election.
  29. No! by Phae · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I said hit CmdrTaco's house with the meteor! Not some random rock on the moon!

  30. Would an atmosphere have helped? by amichalo · · Score: 1

    We know the moon gets struck often, or atleast, that was the thinking when I was in middle school, and that the Earth's atmosphere protects us from similar events.

    What I would like to know is, had this same object entered Earth's atmosphere, would it have made it to the surface or burt up? How much atmosphere (as a percentage of Earth's where Earth's = 100%) would be required to "protect" surface objects from significant damage?

    --
    I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
    1. Re:Would an atmosphere have helped? by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 1

      Howstuffworks.com has some neat pointers:

      It turns out that what these meteoroids lack in mass they make up for in speed, and this is what causes the flash of light in the sky. Meteoroids enter the atmosphere at extremely high speeds -- 7 to 45 miles per second

      So how big does a meteoroid have to be to make it to the surface of the earth? Surprisingly, most of the meteoroids that reach the ground are especially small -- from microscopic debris to dust-particle-size pieces. They don't get vaporized because they are light enough that they slow down very easily. Moving about 1 inch per second through the atmosphere, they don't experience the intense friction that larger meteoroids do. In this sense, most all meteoroids that enter the atmosphere make it to the ground, in the form of microscopic dust.

      As for meteoroids big enough to form visible meteors, estimates for the minimum size vary. This is because there are factors other than size involved. Most notably, a meteoroid's entry speed affects its chances of reaching the surface, because it determines the amount of friction the meteoroid experiences. Typically, though, a meteoroid would have to be about the size of a marble for a portion of it to reach the earth's surface. Smaller particles burn up in the atmosphere about 50 to 75 miles (80 to 120 kilometers) above the earth.

      The meteorites a person is likely to find on the ground probably came from significantly larger meteoroids -- pieces of debris at least the size of a basketball, typically, since larger meteoroids usually break up into smaller chunks as they travel through the atmosphere.

    2. Re:Would an atmosphere have helped? by UttBuggly · · Score: 1

      "How much atmosphere (as a percentage of Earth's where Earth's = 100%) would be required to "protect" surface objects from significant damage?"

      Apparently a lot more than we have...I just saw a Toyota truck get nailed on TV during the football game last night.

      Thank goodness it was one of those meteor-proof models!

      --
      I am my own gestalt.
  31. Re:Slashdot reader's thoughts: by 1u3hr · · Score: 2, Funny
    They take the same damn story twice, but they can't accept my original one! WTF!

    And they smacked you down to -1 too. Seems the eds spend more time seeking revenge than checking their stories. If you'd been Roland Piquepaille, they wouldn't have been so cavalier.

  32. Re:"Happy Dupe Year!" Poll by mccalli · · Score: 1
    Option 4 please: "Less annoying than dozens of wankers posting duplicate "Dupe!" posts". The irony of posting the fiftieth "It's a dupe! Proves the editors aren't reading" post just seems completely lost on some people...

    Cheers,
    Ian

  33. I've Found a Better Picture by douglips · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've located a Hubble image of the impact damage. Pretty impressive!

    1. Re:I've Found a Better Picture by Andrewkov · · Score: 1

      Looks a lot like Pac Man, actually.

  34. Sheer lunacy by tentimestwenty · · Score: 1

    Watching the moon is no doubt useful, but to prepare for protecting astronauts against meteor strikes? That seems like a waste of time. I doubt there will be colonies on the moon in the next 100 years and even then, the cost of building a structure that can withstand the force of 70KG of TNT seems unreasonable. If we do live on the moon, it will be a bare bones outpost and the people that go there will be cowboys with little concern for death.

  35. How come we didn't hear the impact? by ClintBartonWannabe · · Score: 1

    What? Every science fiction movie I've seen has space sounds. Well, except for 2001, but I think it was just a bad copy and had the space sounds erased.

  36. Antichristian Scientists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Brothers and sisters,

    This is surely a warning against the spirit of the antichrist that has fouled the scientific community since the heathen known as Charles A. Darwin. When you walk away from the path of righteousness, you bring a curse down upon your own house. Those meteor impacts may be the curse that rains down among the people who oppose Intelligent Design in favor of the lie of evolution. Will you open your eyes now to the fact that it is the will of God that Intelligent Design prevails in the christian nation of America?

    All of my brothers and sisters in the word, I have a suggestion for yet another way that we can drive the message home to the godless heathens of the American scientific community. They are so dead set against the culture of life that they deny creation. They deny that the world was created by God. They deny that homosexuality is a choice and a sin, not a genetic determination. And they deny that life begins at conception.

    In a spirit of brotherly christian love, I suggest that we all change our birthdates to 9 months before the birthdates we currently use. This will acknowledge and commemorate that life begins at conception. Forget your birthdate and practice your LIFEDATE!!! Begin using your lifedate for all official business to clearly send the message to the ungodly that you are a person of the highest virtue. I have already done so. It's not that hard to do. Just start using the lifedate on any form that asks for a birthdate. Cross out the word "birthdate" and replace it with lifedate.

    Please spread this message of Christian love to everyone you know. We can win this battle against the spirit of evil by standing up and defending Intelligent Design, opposing the sins of abortion, homosexuality, and liberal politics and spreading the message to all that life begins at conception by using our lifedates. Think about it. Which sounds better: birthday party or LIFEDAY party? I know which one I'd rather be invited to.

    Your friend and disciple in Christ,
    Bob Mortenson

    1. Re:Antichristian Scientists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My brother. You do not go far enough. I would say that science began it's sinful decline with Descartes and his declaration that the Earth revolves around the sun. From there it was all downhill for the cult of science.

    2. Re:Antichristian Scientists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The spirit of the antichrist is already against us. You can see by the moderation of this post that satan doesn't want no one to get the Christian message of life. But we will prevail in the end because we are on the right side. Those who have moderated my original post down have taken a side and it is the side of darkness. Judgement will be upon you. Do not forget that for the rest of your lives.

      Bob Mortenson

    3. Re:Antichristian Scientists by tomhudson · · Score: 1

      Which sounds better: birthday party or LIFEDAY party? I know which one I'd rather be invited to.

      Ewww! Its bad enough that parents are taking videos of your birth and plastering them all over the internet, and showing them to your friends during your birthday - I really don't want to see videos of them conceiving me!

      I mean, okay, in my head I can understand they once were my age, they obviously did what any other couple with kids did, but I don't want to be invited to that party. Nobody should see their parents having sex past a certain age - it takes all the fun out of it.

      ... and can you imagine the cheesy sound track?

    4. Re:Antichristian Scientists by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      This is surely a warning against the spirit of the antichrist that has fouled the scientific community since the heathen known as Charles A. Darwin. When you walk away from the path of righteousness, you bring a curse down upon your own house. Those meteor impacts may be the curse that rains down among the people who oppose Intelligent Design in favor of the lie of evolution.

      Wait, wait, wait... are you saying that Darwin is still alive, and living on the moon?

      That's awesome!

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    5. Re:Antichristian Scientists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only a perverted mind would frame the beauty of conception in such lewd terms. Get your mind out of the gutter sir. Conception is the private and sole purpose of sexual relations between a man and a woman. Those who peddle the smut culture of our society are damaged people who have missed the point of sex and life in general terms.

    6. Re:Antichristian Scientists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody should see their parents having sex past a certain age - it takes all the fun out of it.

      Past a certain age? What age would you like to see your parents having sex at?

  37. Well .... by gelfling · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... at least ONE moon landing was real....

  38. Did it hit the dump outside of MoonBase Alpha ? by UberHoser · · Score: 1, Funny

    'cue dramatic music' There goes the moon ! Wait, this should have happened 6 years ago.. Curse you !!!!!

    --
    Guns are for wimps... Use a crossbow.. this way you can pin them to their chair when you go postal.
  39. Dammit, I missed! by TheHawke · · Score: 1

    I meant to hit the Tycho crater with my driver! Oh well, time to go jouncing through the rough to go find my ball..
    They didn't mention anything in the warranty about hitting balls in 1/6th gravity..

    --
    First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
  40. Informative? by douglips · · Score: 1

    Wow. Pass the hookah, moderator dude.

  41. They aren't guessing. by neoshroom · · Score: 1

    They aren't guessing. It looked exactly like that. Everyone knows that the moon being made of green cheese is a myth, as the picture clearly illustrates, the cheese is yellow. Probably chedder.

    --
    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
  42. Need to go back by Bruha · · Score: 1

    For all we know the empire has sent a probe searching for the rebel base. Check this meteor impact we must.

  43. Can anyone else find it? by RancidMilk · · Score: 1

    I have been looking on http://moon.google.com/ and I can't for the life of me find any new craters.

  44. Gotta Nuke something... by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

    The Russians got even further along this kind of thinking. Look into the "E-4 project" (I won't post my favorite link because while it might help my karma *here* it certainly won't help with my karma with the server owner to /. him!)

      It was actually not that bad an idea, before the advent of reliable complex telemetry systems, it was a fairly reasonable way to prove you had done it.

        Brett

  45. Artist's Impression by Tired+and+Emotional · · Score: 1

    Judging from that artists impression perhaps it was actually a strike from a batter pudding http://www.thegoonshow.co.uk/scripts/batter.html.

    --
    Squirrel!
  46. Re:moon terrorists by meringuoid · · Score: 1
    It happened on November 7th, but maybe it was November 5th on the Lunar calendar? Remember the Guy! (400th anniversary.)

    Well, that's basically what happened. The ol'Brigadeer and some of the lads commandeered one of Sir Richard's new spaceships, loaded it up with high-ex and launched it moonwards to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of religiously-flavoured terrorism. It was a lovely sight on takeoff, and the bonus reward two days later when it hit target was quite delightful. O'course, we had to hush it up - everyone these days is convinced UNIT doesn't even exist thanks to some really cunning TV propaganda work - but it's nice to see that someone out there noticed.

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  47. That's no moon... by albeit+unknown · · Score: 1

    It's a TRAP!

  48. Re:"Happy Dupe Year!" Poll by slashname3 · · Score: 1

    The irony of posting the fiftieth "It's a dupe! Proves the editors aren't reading" post just seems completely lost on some people...

    You mean the editors can read?

  49. It's a fake, next please by Old+Wolf · · Score: 1

    This was clearly filmed in an underwater TV studio. Current meteor technology is not up to the task of successfully hitting the Moon, and why does the crosshair on the photo appear behind the meteor?

  50. History Dupes Us All by VernonNemitz · · Score: 1

    Absolutely is this story a dupe. Just see this link,
    and do a quick scan for the 5th decent-sized paragraph, that starts with this guy's name: Gervasius

  51. Basically speaking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    have it land on your moonbase

    All your moonbase belong to U.S.

  52. I hope they don't start increasing in frequency... by bergeron76 · · Score: 1

    Because when I used to play Wing Commander, they would start out slowly. Next thing you knew, you were in a complete metor shower.

    Fun in Wing Commander, bad news for Earthlings.

    --
    Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
  53. Not the first time by imemyself · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This isn't the first time that people have seen meteors hitting the moon. In the 1500's I think it was, some monks in Europe saw what may have been a meteor/asteroid hitting the moon. It was mentioned in one movies/episodes of the Cosmos series. Though I have heard that some people think that it was just a metor breaking up in the Earth's atmosphere and that it just appeared to be over the moon because of their position. Also, some time around the 50's I think(either in the 40's, 50's, or 60's I think I'm not sure), a Japanese scientist saw a small flash of light that was almost certainly a meteor. I almost think that he had a picture of it as well, though I'm not certain.

    --
    Every time you post an article on Slashdot, I kill a server. Think of the servers!
  54. Dupes and Dupedupes by DynaSoar · · Score: 1

    Dupes are common because not everyone sees everything the first time around, nor reads the archives. They happen. If the 'wasted space' is something to complain about, consider how many whiners waste space calling DUPE to every dupe, creating dupedupes. Far more than the dupes themselves.

    Of course if complaining about dupes is a sort of conspicuous consumption behavior where you get to show how much time you have to keep track of what's on /. rather than doing something productive, or if it's just whining for its own sake with no constructive purpose behind it at all, I suggest you bend your fingers over backwards and super glue your fingernails to the back of your wrists. And I mean that in a nice way.

    --
    "I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
  55. Lunar Transcient Phenomena? by technoCon · · Score: 1

    I had a friend, a physics prof at Hope College, who said he saw Lunar Transcient Phenomena when he was a student at Caltech. In the years afterwards I've never heard any more about LTP. Now I'm wondering if LTP is the same thing as these asteroid collisions we're hearing about.

    Anybody know?

  56. Re:moon terrorists by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

    Just so long as they weren't playing with TORCHWOOD again.

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.