Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Scientists Witness Meteor Strike on the Moon

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the thats-what-they-want-us-to-think dept.

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."

5 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. 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. 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?
  3. 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.
  4. 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!