In the hydrated layer, water molecules likely stick to bits of soil and rock called regolith. This layer was followed by a thin transition later and then a hydrated layer. And then, when the event was over, the H2O or OH went away.”Īccording to researchers, a meteoroid had to penetrate at least 8 centimetres (3 inches) below the lunar surface to release water. ![]() “But when the Moon passed through one of these meteoroid streams, enough vapor was ejected for us to detect it. A meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth's surface without burning up star a flaming mass of gases which gives out light and heat and appears to twinkle when one looks at it. “The Moon doesn’t have significant amounts of H2O or OH in its atmosphere most of the time,” said Richard Elphic, the LADEE project scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center. When a meteoroid strikes the surface the water is dispersed into the atmosphere and quickly dissipates. It is believed that a thin layer of dry sand covers small concentrations of water across the lunar surface. ![]() Using data collected from the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADE), researchers from NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory observed the dispersion of water vapour into the thin lunar atmosphere following meteoroid strikes. A about this size hits the moon about once a week or so.īottom line: Photos and video of the meteorite flash on the moon, caught during the January 20-21, 2019, total lunar eclipse.NASA has revealed that by observing meteoroid strikes, researchers have discovered new concentrations of water on the lunar surface. It’s a rare alignment of infrequent events. Astronomer and geologist Justin Cowart ( on Twitter) at Stony Brook University in New York told National Geographic: How often do meteorites strike the moon? More often than you might think. So did EarthSky community member Tom Wildoner: | Max Corneau in Rockwall, Texas – aka AstroDad – also caught the flash of the meteorite. In this case, many images showed the same thing, a flash south of the crater Byrgiu – on the western part of the moon – at 4:41 UTC.ĮarthSky community member Max Corneau, aka AstroDad, also caught the flash: View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. The flashes tend to be faint and short lived, and, when one occurs, astronomers want to check to be sure the flash isn’t from a camera, and not the moon itself. This will cause the surface of the meteor. | Another shot from Greg Hogan of the meteorite flash on the moon, January 20, 2019, at 11:41 eastern (January 21 at 4:41 UTC).įlashes on the moon have been reported before, but never on a moon in eclipse, to our knowledge. When a meteor descends through Earths atmosphere, an exceptional amount of heat is applied to it by our atmosphere. Thanks for the heads up, Greg! View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. This glowing meteoroid is called a meteor, sometimes nicknamed a shooting star. | This flash on the red, eclipsed moon came from a meteorite strike! EarthSky friend Greg Hogan in Kathleen, Georgia was one of the first to notice he’d caught the flash on film. The heat causes gases around the meteoroid to glow brightly. View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. You can see two of Greg’s photos below, with the meteorite flash marked by an arrow. I reviewed my images from the other night, and I am showing in the news reports that the impact happened at 11:41 eastern time … I’m pretty excited! Here at EarthSky, we heard the news from one of our community members, Greg Hogan in Kathleen, Georgia. ![]() The news spread quickly on social media, as people from across the path of totality posted their images and video of this tiny flicker of light. … reached out to the r/space community to see if others could weigh in. But some sharp-eyed photographers and livestream viewers also noticed a flash on one edge of the moon, as a rock from space struck the surface of Earth’s companion world, just as the total eclipse was beginning.Ī viewer on Reddit was apparently the first to notice the impact during the eclipse. The eclipse took place during the night of January 20-21, 2019, and many caught it on film ( see photos). Astronomers are saying it might be the first known event of its kind, a flash of light seen during a total lunar eclipse.
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