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NASA Meteoroid-Spotting Program Captures Brightest-Yet Moon Impact

Posted by timothy on from the look-exclusively-on-the-bright-side dept.

From a NASA press release published Friday: "For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. 'Lunar meteor showers' have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year. They've just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program." Watch the flash for yourself.

1 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. C'mon NASA, get your act together on units by femtobyte · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

    "size of a small boulder"? This has to be one of the most useless size descriptions possible (I suppose they could have said "the size of a random rock"). Given that they later indicate

    The 40 kg meteoroid measuring 0.3 to 0.4 meters wide

    it's not as if they shouldn't have been able to come up with a more descriptive metaphor.